It wasn't supposed to work like this. The process I'd become so painfully familiar with lately didn't happen this way. I was not supposed to be in control of myself any longer. In another situation this would have been a plus. More than I could have ever hoped for. But it was still there! I could feel it in my head, it's calm thoughts echoing around my skull. And it could hear me, too.
Although my eyes were still closed tight, I could see the bright yellow light through my eyelids. The hard operating table was cold beneath my arms, raising goosebumps. Without opening my eyes, I tried to gather as much information about my surroundings as possible.
Obviously I was still in the insertion room where they always took their victims.
Not victims, the voice in my head corrected. We're doing this for your benefit.
This startled me. The voice was clear and loud, piercing through my mind. I wasn't going to respond. That felt like giving into it.
I'm not an it, you know. Before this, I was male.
I couldn't restrain this time. I didn't know you parasites had genders. Aren't you all just slimy, silver bugs anyway? It's not like you reproduce yourselves. You use your victims for that!
The voice was quiet. I was smug. Maybe it would keep its opinions to itself from now on.
Suddenly a door opened. A loud clacking noice filled the room, reminding me of stilletos. My mom used to wear those around the house before the world went haywire. A cold hand touched my arm and it was all I could do to not pull away. I wasn't ready to face what was out there. It certainly would be other parasites. They were the ones who completed the insertions. Would they know that I was still human? The silver reflective eyes. They only way you could tell from a distance what they were.