Mary's excursion with an outing group she had just joined had taken a weird turn. She now found herself in a dank cavern, with a large, teeming pool in the center of it. Frightened, Mary turned to leave, and was grabbed by two large men.
"It's your turn," one of them said. They bent her down towards the awful, green-colored pool, which was frothing and thrashing, and horribly Mary could see that the pool was filled with alien slug-like creatures. She opened her mouth to scream, but quickly closed it as her head was shoved under the water. Her worst nightmare, one of the alien slugs violently entered her ear canal, melting inside her skull and disappearing inside. The men released her, and Mary attempted to stand, only to find that she couldn't. She then watched in horror as her body did stand, but not of her own volition.
You see? You're mine, now, an alien voice said inside of her mind. Mary watched as her own hand was raised up, and inspected by her new master.
Feels good, to have a body, the alien said.
What happens now? Mary asked.
I'm going back to your place, to start my new life, the alien said. It was a strange, disassociating feeling to watch her body move, and have no control over it. It was terrifying and made her skin itch and crawl. Mary's skin on her face did begin to itch, and she watched her own hand scratch it.
Thanks, Mary said.
Yeah...don't worry about it, the alien said.
They drove back to her house, Mary feeling like she was watching a 360 degree movie that she couldn't escape from. Upon entering Mary's house, the alien vocalized sounds of disgust.
Good lord, you never clean, do you, the alien said.
Yeah, Mary said, sounding distant and weak.
The alien began picking up the apartment, berating Mary as it found old, dirty dishes and trash everywhere. He found her fast food worker uniform, crumpled on the floor.
Oh no, this won't do. I'm applying for a decent job today! The alien said.
I'm not good for much, Mary said. She watched as her own head shook back and forth.
I'm good for plenty. I'm an officer in my army, very intelligent. We'll go back to school if we have to, the alien said.
Continuing to clean, the alien found an unopened package shoved into a corner. It was a large brown box from a home supplies store.
You didn't open your mail? What is it? The alien asked.
It's a hose, Mary said.
What for? The alien asked.
For connecting my exhaust pipe to my car window, Mary said.
Oh, I see. You were going to kill yourself, huh? The alien said.
Yeah, when I got around to it, Mary said.
The alien picked up the box, turning it around in Mary's vision.
You don't really want to die, do you? He asked.
I mean, it beats living my life. Hats off to you, Mary said. In her mind, Mary started to laugh madly. The alien threw the box in the corner, where he was collecting trash to be removed.
No more of that. From now on, we're living in a clean house, with a decent job and we're going
to take care of our hygiene. You're going to be presentable, and respectable, from now on. That's what's happening now, got it? The alien said. The alien noted a sort of warm feeling coming from his host's heart, but he ignored it. Surely, this host was mentally ill, and didn't know how to appropriately react to this situation.
With the floor now visible, the alien went to go find a vacuum. It was dusty and neglected in the corner of the back room, not even put away in a closet, and the alien sighed. Stacked up on the floor of the room, there were dozens and dozens of paintings. The alien picked up one after the other, inspecting them.
These are good. What's your problem? You could have been an artist, the alien said.
It's harder than you'd think to sell art, Mary said.
I guess. I'm going to try and sell these, though, the alien said.
Hey, what's your name? Mary asked. The alien put the picture down carefully.
You want to know my name? It's Xerxes 486, he said.
Xerxes was the name of a king on Earth, Mary told him.
Huh, how about that? Maybe Xerxes will rule on Earth once again, he said, and chuckled. Mary felt his mirth, watching her own body laugh. She could feel how differently her body felt, being melded with a being who didn't suffer from depression. He saw things differently, and his confident spirit made Mary's body fill with the feel good chemicals. She also felt something else, too, watching him look at more of her art with appreciation.
Human... I recognize that feeling in your chest. Are you falling in love with me? That's madness, you know. I'm here to steal your life from you. More than that, your whole planet, Xerxes 486 asked her.
Yeah, I get that, Xerx. But, as you know, I wanted to die anyway. Now, I don't have to die, but I don't have to live, either. As for the planet, you should really watch the news more. With WWIII and global warming finally happening, we're likely to wipe ourselves out soon enough. I suppose being conquered by you is better than nuclear annihilation. Not completely sure about that, as I think some would consider this a fate worse than death. But, I can only speak for myself, Mary said.
Yes, those things are happening, and the impending Singularity. Lucky we got here when we did, Xerxes 486 said.
You know, there's a way you can make this less bad for me, Xerx. One of the only things I ever really enjoyed in this world was painting. Do you think you could give me like two hours a day with my hands, just so that I can paint? I won't bother you the rest of the time. If you don't do this, I'll torture you forever with my depressing thoughts, Mary said. She gave him a taste of what that was like, opening up the darkest thoughts in her mind and showing them to Xerx. Mary felt her body shudder.
That's dark stuff, but honestly, I've never had a host that was willing before. I've always wanted to know what that was like, rather than having one screaming or crying in the corner. So yes, I'll honor your request, he said, and Mary's heart leaped with joy.
Besides, I do think we could get good money for these, he added. He looked around the room, taking in the large stacks of unframed paintings, collecting dust.
And...I want to chose the movies we watch, half the time, she said.
What kind of movies? Xerx asked.
I like horror and Sci Fi, Mary said, and Xerx laughed.
How fitting. Any further terms to discuss, my willing host? Xerx asked. Mary's heart raced, and she felt embarrassed. Grabbing hold of her last shred of courage, a shred she had guarded through all of her hard times, she decided to be honest with him. Mary imagined herself, and the image of Xerx popped up, the brain slug she had gotten a glimpse of before he had entered her. Reaching out her mental hand, she stroked him head to tail, and then rested her hand under his face.
I always enjoyed pleasuring myself. I'd hate to give that up, she said. Xerx took hold of the mental image of himself in her mind, and made it swim elegantly in the air in front of her. It looked to Mary like some sort of alien mating dance. He made it swim through the air towards her, and Mary held him to her chest. In her body, her chest lit up with the warm elixir of love.
Maybe you can show me how, right now, he said. Going to her bedroom, he took Mary's clothes off and hopped into her warm, soft bed. He ran Mary's warm hands across her body, which was being cooled by the air of her apartment. With Mary instructing him, Xerx cupped her breasts, and rubbed her nipples between her fingers. This started to make her wet, and she moaned internally. Xerx moaned too, through Mary's mouth.
I'm doing it right, then? He asked her.
Yes, don't stop, she said. Her hand reached down, and rubbed her clit through her hood. Keeping up the rhythm, he kept going until she was close to orgasm. Then, he shoved her fingers inside of her, and thrust hard inside of her. At her request, he moved more gently, as she told him to alternate the hard with the light touch.
Yes, your body is mine. And some day, so will your planet, he said.
That's kinda hot, she said.
You're a dirty traitor, you know, he said.
I never asked for this. I'm just not fighting it, she said.
Yeah, you want me inside you now, though. Don't you? Xerx said. He thrust her hand harder now inside of her, rubbing her G-spot, and they moaned together.
You're really enjoying this too, aren't you, she said.
I want to know what a human feels like when she comes, he said.
Oh, your poor previous hosts, she said. He grumbled for a moment at this, and then, he did something that surprised her.
You have your left arm, now. Just for now, he said. Mary found that she could move her left arm, and it felt like quite a relief to have some agency again. She used this freedom, and grabbed her own throat and began to squeeze.
Hey! Stop that. Are you trying to kill yourself? I thought you liked me, Xerx said.
Nah, babe, I just like being choked, she said. Xerx breathed hard, feeling renewed lust in knowing she was committed was to their relationship. He used his thumb to rub her clit, while he rubbed her G-spot inside of her.
Say my name, he said.
Oh, Xerx. Make me come, she said.
Sure, my little human, he said. He touched her artfully, feeling everything that she felt and easily bringing her to orgasm. They came together, saying each others name again and again. She laid there, breathing hard, until Xerx grabbed the covered and curled up under them.
I see you took my hand back, Mary said.
Yeah, you can paint later. After some job applications, he said. In Mary's mind, she thought about some other things she might want to ask from him. This had all happened so fast, she hadn't known exactly what to say. She knew that he'd want to keep up their relationship, and not have things devolve into a master/host situation. She also knew that he had the power, and that probably the rest of his species didn't even have the scrap of kindness that he was showing to her. Knowing that deep down she was a masochist, she was grateful that she had these feelings for him, to make this more fun for her. He was able to read her thoughts, and he was relieved that her feelings towards him were genuine. He thought about how she had held him in her arms, in her imagination.
Some time, I'd like to be able to crawl outside you, and let you hold me. But, not yet. I don't trust you enough yet, he said.
Oh, you think I'm going to whack you against the table and end you? Mary said.
Yeah, I do. Let's just see how this goes, he said.
I agree, Mary said. In her imagination, the two of them spooned.