Chapter 09: Growing Up Creepie
A black haze surrounded her. Even when she opened her eyes, through her narrowed slits all she could see was the blackness that seemed to have engulfed her senses forever. The sound of voices mumbling echoed through ears that seemed for a moment unable to piece together the meanings of their words, until suddenly a bright light flared to life through the darkness. She closed her eyes again for a moment, then blinked and struggled to open them to see what was happening. The light was all she could see, however.
"Her resistance to the tranquilizer is remarkable, doctor." A voice spoke from somewhere outside the light, barely recognizable in her hazy mind. The voice was faintly familiar… "The dosage in her body would have an elephant in the grave, but she's still regaining consciousness in periodic intervals."
"Insect like resistance to toxins and disease." The deep voice from the hospital replied. "Absolutely remarkable. Physical capabilities?"
"Muscle mass seems less than a standard human." The second voice replied. "But her body structure is lighter and more agile. This is confirmed by reports from those who attempted to apprehend her and saw her scale straight up the walls of buildings."
Creepie tried to crane her head to look up at the voices that seemed to float from the darkness just out of sight. As her head lolled side-to-side, she felt the table begin to move upward, lifting her closer toward the light. She squinted against it again uncomfortably, trying to pull her hands up only to find that they were bound tightly to the cold steel table.
"She's awake." The man's cold voice said with what sounded like admiration in his voice. "If we can isolate what it is that gives her body such immunity, it could mean an end to disease as we know it. We could cure anything that came our way. Or make humanity immune… at lease, those humans who deserve to be immune."
"Wh…" Creepie panted for breath as she tried to speak. It was even difficult to control her lungs. "Wer… ammai…"
"Where are you?" The doctor's voice clarified with a ghost of a chuckle lingering in his voice. "You are shaping the world, my dear. Whether you realize it or not." Creepie winced when she felt something stab into her arm, and looked just in time to see a needle drawing away from her. She struggled for a moment against the solid steel locks that held her in place, but quickly she felt the darkness once again consuming her mind and her eyes closed once more.
"Creepie." The sound of her mother's voice jerked the young girl's head up from staring down at her bowl of Honeybee Cereal with the handle of her spoon sticking out of one corner of her mouth. Her tiny mother's eyes were kind as always, thought her tone was as commanding as ever. "Is something wrong, Creepie? You've been staring at your cereal for some time. I know you hate it when it gets too soggy."
"Sorry." Creepie shook her seven-year-old head, staring down at her mother, who was standing on the table and looking up at her with a concerned gaze. "I was just thinking. You and dad are getting real tiny lately."
Carolina chuckled and shook her head. "We're not getting tiny, Creepie, you're getting bigger."
"Bigger than the rest of you." Creepie noted.
"That is true." Her mother replied in a guarded tone.
"Why am I bigger than you?" Creepie asked bluntly. "Am I different, somehow?" For several long moments, her mother just stared up at her with a stunned, and somewhat dismayed expression on her face. Her husband, Vinncent the Mosquito, buzzed over to them from the counter, where he'd been preparing food for the larvae who would soon be hatching from their eggs. He landed beside his wife with a solemn expression on his face.
"Yes, Creepala. You are." Vinnie opened his cape-like arms with a smile. "You are not a bug like us, you are what is called a human."
"A human?" Creepie asked. "Like those people who like to hurt bugs? I don't want to be one of them, I like being a bug."
"Well, yes." Carolina said. "But not all humans are bad, Creepie. Like you."
"Of course." Vinne gave her a broad, gentle smile. "You are very special, Creepie, to us and to your many cousins who dwell here in this place. You may be human, but that does not change that you are our daughter and we both love you very much." He flew up from the table to land on her shoulder and give her cheek a brief hug while her mother jumped up on her arm to crawl up to her other shoulder, hugging her other side. Creepie watched them both, for the first time keenly aware of just how different they were.
Creepie smiled a moment later. "I love you guys too, but… maybe you could tell me a bit about humans?"
Vinnie flashed her another warm smile as he replied, "What would you like to know?"
"It's proven difficult to get an exact read on what parts of her body are generating these fantastic antibodies. They're fighting off the tranquilizers almost as soon as we administer them, now." A strange voice echoed from the darkness again as Creepie felt her memories slip away, replaced by the present, where her eyes opened to see lights flashing past overhead. She could feel herself rolling across the ground atop the table she was strapped to, still unable to move.
"It must be the cockroach DNA we embedded into her genetic makeup." The deep voice from before that had grown so horrifyingly familiar replied. "Somehow it must be allowing her body to adapt to the changes in chemical balance, just like those annoying little bugs do."
Creepie lolled her head to the side, trying to get a good look at one of her captors, but the world continued to exist in a hazy fog she could barely see through. "Wha… y… gh…" She fought to speak, but could barely form more than rough sounds.
"Dear God, she's awake again!" One of the other voices exclaimed in shock. "Get more tranquilizers in her, quick! Before she awakens completely!"
"No… no!" Creepie struggled against the cold steel that held her tight against the table, but she could barely control her muscles. Her body spasmed desperately against her restraints until she felt several pairs of hands grip her arms and legs while something sharp jammed into her right arm. "No! Lemme… lemme go…" Creepie grunted as the haze that covered the world began to grow stronger than ever. "I wanna… go home…" Creepie panted and struggled to lift her head, but even the muscles in her neck wouldn't respond now.
"Learn to accept it, child." The horrific doctor's voice called after her as she began to plunge back into the darkness. "You have no true home."
The Chrysalis Room was always so tranquil, nine-year-old Creepie thought as she sat down on the hard wood floor near the door to watch all of the chrysalis' and cocoons sway through the gentle, steady breeze that came in through the room's one window. Her wide, wondering eyes watched the tiny shells with the eye of a guardian, making sure that nothing could harm them before the lives forming within had a chance to emerge.
She was there for several hours before, suddenly, she gasped at the sound of glass shattering and the sight of a slightly beaten-up baseball. It thunked to the rotting hardwood floor and rolled into one of her feet before coming to a stop. Curiously, Creepie plucked the ball off of the floor, then pushed herself up and approached the window. When she heard voices outside she ducked behind the wall to make sure she wasn't seen. Those sounded like human voices.
"Soggy muffins!" A shrill voice exclaimed in dismay through the window. A voice Creepie would one day come to know as Chris-Alice. "The ball went into the old Dweezwold place!"
"Oh no!" A softer, brighter voice floated through the air like a flute, who Creepie now knew to be Melanie. "I've heard that place is so haunted it's not even funny! Like a million ghosts in there!"
"Please, you really believe in ghosts?" Carla's sharp voice scoffed at the idea. "Everyone knows Santa Clause destroyed all the ghosts a long time ago."
"If you say so." A lighter, stranger voice replied. Creepie crept closer to the window and pulled herself up so that she could just barely peek outside at the small group of kids playing in the large grassy field behind the mansion. A boy was standing with the group of girls, a boy with darker skin and a bit more flesh on his body than the others. Creepie knew now that this was Budge, before the growth spurt that had made him a giant among his peers. "Personally, I don't want to know if ghosts exist. I'll be happy never knowing."
"Well somebody's going to have to find out, because we can't finish our game without a ball." Carla pointed out sharply. Creepie glanced down at the ball in her hand, realizing this was what they were after. "And since she's the head of both baseball teams, I elect Chris-Alice." Carla patted her redheaded friend on the head and flashed her a grin. "Just in case you do get eaten by a ghost, it's been nice knowing you."
"What? Me?" Chris-Alice gulped and looked up at Dweezwold Manor. "Well… sure! I'm not scared! Even if there is a ghost, I can handle it because I'm a Hollyruller!"
"And Hollyrullers always win, yeah yeah, we know." Carla huffed.
"Just get our ball back." Melanie added.
"Yeah, and remember that house is death incarnate." Carla grinned.
"That's fine." Chris-Alice looked up at the spooky old, rotting mansion and gulped again. "Just fine… I can beat death incarnate." For a moment she seemed to waver, then she took a deep breath and began to march across the unkempt lawn toward the window where Creepie was hiding. Creepie narrowed her eyes at Carla and Melanie, not even knowing their names and yet despising the smug way they held their hips as they watched Chris-Alice approach Dweezwold.
Creepie dropped from the windowsill and stepped back, giving herself some room to wind up the most powerful throw her tiny arm could manage. The ball sailed blindly through the window, and she winced when she heard Chris-Alice scream "OUCH!" along with the sound of the ball rebounding off of her head. Creepie quickly jumped up to look at Chris-Alice and the rest of the kids stared down at the ball in shock.
"But… but the house is all dead…" Chris-Alice's mouth slowly opened in horror.
"GHOOOOST!" Melanie's shriek drove all of the kids wild at once, scattering them across the lawn away from Dweezwold as fast as they could go. They moved so fast Chris-Alice ditched the baseball, leaving it lying alone and forgotten on the grass.
Cocking one eyebrow, Creepie slipped out of the window and walked across the lawn to lean down and pick up the ball. She'd meant to return it, not scare the living daylights out of them. Oh well, she sighed to herself, maybe she could find a way to return it later. For now, her attention was drawn back to her home, where she heard the soft, wonderful sound of the cocoons inside the Chrysalis Room beginning to crack open.
A few butterflies flitted out of the room, followed by more until it looked like a parade of rainbows pouring from the decrepit old building. The moths and butterflies shouted their goodbyes as they spiraled into the sky, and Creepie bid them farewell with a wave of her hand. She had to wonder, how could anyone think Dweezwold was dead when there was so much life springing forth from it?
"Her brainwave activity is increasing again, doctor. She's regaining consciousness!" A man's voice exclaimed as Creepie's eyes opened once again to the dark haze that obscured her vision. "If we continue on with this she'll be conscious during the experiment. I recommend aborting immediately."
"We've wasted enough time trying to keep her under sedation. Proceed with the experiment."
"But sir, it's inhumane…" The gentler man's voice was cut off.
"We'll take all necessary steps after the experiment is completed. Proceed as planned. We need to see the limits of her ability to adapt." The doctor replied. Creepie groaned and tried to lift her arms, but found her wrists still bound to the table. Her eyes jerked around her as the dark haze slowly began to solidify, bringing light to her eyes that allowed her to see the steel ceiling over her head, and the sterile white walls around her.
Her eyes darted around the room, taking in her surroundings, including the many cameras that were lodged in the ceiling. Most were focused on her, but one camera in particular turned away from her to aim toward a strange circle cut into the floor. Creepie lifted her head to look down at the circle, squinting her eyes until they were able to focus enough to make it clear in her vision. Her breath came in deep gasps, her body trembling as the circle in the floor spiraled open until there was a hole in the floor the size of a basketball.
"Irradiating subject." The gentle man's voice wavered over the intercom that blared through the small chamber as a strange, glowing green device lifted into the room with Creepie. Creepie stared at it for a moment, then gasped and redoubled her efforts to struggle free. She struggled with all her might, putting her entire body into yanking at the restraints until her wrists felt like they were going to be yanked right off of her arms.
She gasped when suddenly her sweaty wrists slipped out of the restraints and she flipped over the side of the table she'd been strapped to, hitting the floor with a solid thud. She panted as she pushed herself up to her hands and knees, her entire body beginning to sweat. She pulled herself away from the dangerous substance, towards the door on the far side of the room, trying to get away more by instinct than any rational thought. Her head still felt fuzzy… but there was nothing unclear about the panic she was in.
"Subject's radiation levels are rising exponentially… approaching normal human tolerance." The man's voice over the intercom was audibly wavering, but Creepie didn't care. She reached the door and leaned against it, pushing at it as if she could shove it open and escape. Despite being so close, however, the door refused to open.
She brought her fist back and banged on the door as hard as she could, leaning her head against the cold steel to watch her sweat run down the smooth surface. "Let me out…" She croaked. "Let me… out…" She could feel her strength giving out again and she fell to her butt on the floor, leaning her back against the door. She was panting for breath, staring across the room at the radioactive substance that was poisoning her body. "Don't do… this to me…" She pleaded softly.
"Radiation levels well above critical… subject's vital signs are beginning to fluctuate." The man's voice projected from the intercom. At least they seemed happy with their experiment, Creepie thought as her eyes began to close again. It felt like her body was on fire now, but in a moment that was once again consumed by the darkness.
The sun was gentle, shining through the thin gray clouds overhead, refusing to let its fiery orange glow be completely contained. The orange light spread out across Middlington, lighting up the town like a flame out of control, and sending its people scurrying into the shadows that were so familiar to the pair who sat perched inside the lower branches of one of the trees that swayed in the breeze just outside of town. The view was grand, the air was crisp and clear, and they were both certain they were sitting with the only person in the world who knew who they really were.
"Creepie?" Skipper glanced over at her from the branch on which he sat. When Creepie turned her eyes to him she saw his arachnid-like form concealed from the light by the foliage all around them. "Do you ever stop and think what's next?"
"I usually don't." Creepie shrugged slightly. "I mean sure, sometimes I think about what I'm going to do when I get older… what kind of job I'll get. Mostly though, I like to think of myself as a bug. Scurrying about my days without a care in the world beyond what's for dinner and where I'm going to sleep tonight."
"You think you can do that forever?" Skipper asked curiously.
"Who has forever?" Creepie replied calmly. "We're all going to die at some point… if we spend our time worrying too much about the future, we could miss the present and then when the future comes, we'll have nothing… we'll have done nothing. I like doing things."
"You have a point, I guess." Skipper shook his head. "Still, you must have something you want to do before you die. Something you haven't done."
"Your human world is still pretty strange to me…" Creepie confessed softly, staring through the foliage at the descending orange sun whose light was now framing the town of Middlington. "I'm not even sure what all there is to do in it… so I guess I want to do everything."
Skipper laughed. "That would take a pretty long time. You've got to start somewhere."
"Sure." Creepie smiled over at him. "Finding someone to do it all with was step one."
"Well…" Skipper returned her smile. "That's one thing you don't need to do anymore."
Creepie looked over at him again with a soft gaze. "Then it's on to do everything else. After all, I don't have forever."
TOMORROW: Chapter 10: Growing Up Creepier
