Acheron Chapter 5 – Parasite
A/N- Personal Data Transmitters (PDT) as mentioned before unlock your doors (office, home and the like) and will log you into your computer terminal. Their other functions include, holding all personal information (SSN, credit card info, allergies, blood type, medical history and so on) they also send out your life signs and GPS location to the colony computer in case you get lost on this unknown world.
The door slides open and Kipper jumps off the bed to greet whoever had just entered his home, the figure stood at the door as it slide shut behind her allowing her eyes to adjust to the darkness of the room. Seeing the dog come toward her, she squats to the floor and extends her hand which held a pork chop bone. Kipper had inadvertently been trained to be too trusting of strangers, with all the visitors that had come to his parent's house over the years, or meeting new and unknown people on the walks he took with them during the evening hours. So though his first instinct was to bark at the unknown individual standing before him, his training had taught him not to, not to mention she was giving him a gift that smelled oh so good so she couldn't be all that bad right. Smelling the gift a few more times along with her hand he takes the bone and allows her to pet him behind the ear, then scurries off to a corner to enjoy his treat.
Satisfied that the canine was going to remain passive she walks further into the small living space, taking in her surroundings as best she could in the dark, trying her best not to make any noise to alert the remain occupant of her presence. Coming to the bedroom door she leans upon the frame and takes in the occupant who lay sleeping in the bed, lying on his side his breathing remained at a slow and steady pace. His dreams she could only guess at, his hopes as far as she was concerned were trivial, but in a way she was beginning to see him as the key to her desires. Walking over to the bed silently she places an object upon the bedside table and looks at the man closely, thinking to herself she wondered if getting into his good graces would get her closer to the object of her affections. That just maybe if she played her cards right she could become something to the two of them, and perhaps they would allow her into their lives. Letting her fantasies run wild she saw herself invited to dinners with the two of them, and ever so slowly coming closer to Kevin. After a while a glimmer of hope as they ask her to be their surrogate mother, which would mean she would be part of their family. Edd could be tolerated for that, couldn't he, the pregnancy along with birthdays and Christmas's flew by her eyes, the child being Kevin's of course, all natural no in vitro fertilization for this gal. She even saw the possibility of falling in love with Edd as well, moving in with them and sharing a bed together all wrapped up in the love they had for one another.
Snapping back into reality, she had found that while she was daydreaming she had squatted down and was looking the man in question square in the face. His eyes were still closed and his breathing still slow and even, his features were handsome but didn't compare to Kevin's, from what could be seen of his chest and arms she could tell that his physic was defined but not bulky like Kevin's. Reaching out her hand hesitantly but daringly she went to touch his cheek but pulled back at the last second as the man made a soft groan and rolled over to face away from her and pull Kevin's pillow to him. Whispering his name as he clutched the pillows close to him taking in the scent of the man he loved, standing, she quickly and quietly made her way out of the living quarters and back into the passageway. Once the door closed behind her the distinct sound of an incoming call rang through the quarters she had just exited, her timing and luck have yet to fail her, just another thing that reinforced her belief that she was on the right path.
Edd hears the tone for an incoming call and groggily reaches over to hit the button to accept the call, "Hello, can I help you," he asks half asleep seeing the unfamiliar face on the screen, glancing at the clock it was only four in the morning.
"My apologies for waking you up so early Doctor but your husband reported in a short time ago to inform us on the nature of the accident he was sent out to assist with, and I could use your help with the case." The blonde in the video seemed rather concerned.
"Pardon me but you seem to have me at a disadvantage, you are?" Edd's mind was still kicking into gear as he woke up.
"How rude of me, I am Dr. Van Bartonschmeer, the resident physician."
"Pleasure to make your acquaintance Doctor," he yawns as he sits up in bed and stretches, "But why do you need a biologists help?"
"A parasitic organism of some kind has attached itself to one of the individuals," she pauses and looks down with an expression that Edd would describe as worry, "It will be easier for you to see it for yourself then to explain it. They should be arriving within the hour, can I count on your assistance Doctor?"
"Of course I will be happy to help, anything I can do to assist you Doctor," he hits a button and the lights come on, "Give me a little time to get ready and I will be down."
"Thank you Doctor, I appreciate it," hitting the end button he stands and heads into the bathroom to get ready, twenty minutes later he was showered, shaved and had his teeth cleaned. Going back into the bedroom followed by Kipper he pulls out his clothes for the day. Considering the events of the day he would forgo his usual dress clothes that he wore typically for office work and went with blue jeans a button up shirt and a black sweater vest. Sitting on his side of the bed to tie his shoes he noticed an object on his bedside table, something he was sure was not there when he went to sleep last night. It was a simple snow globe with a ballerina on her tiptoes perched on a lily pad in the center of what looked like water, taking a spare moment he wound the key on the bottom and it began to play Swan Lake as the little figure turned within the globe. Smiling to himself he set the snow globe back down and made a mental note to thank Kevin for the impromptu gift, though he couldn't put his finger on what the occasion was.
Standing he gives Kipper some much needed love and heads out the door and toward the Med Labs which were close to operations. Upon entering he was greeted by Dr. Van Bartonschmeer as she handed him a cup of coffee, "Thank you again Dr. Vincent-Barr, I do apologizes once again for waking you up so early."
"It's quite alright Doctor, think nothing of it," he takes a sip of his coffee and sits it down on one of the counter tops, "How long until they get here?"
"Roughly fifteen minutes or so."
"Is there any clear information on what has happened?" He takes a seat knowing it was only going to be a short respite before they needed to prepare themselves incase surgery was needed.
She shook her head at his question, "Nothing to definitive really, his wife didn't make much sense when she contacted us for help, and all the rescue team could tell us was that something has attached itself to his face, and that he appears to be unconscious but alive."
"That's not much to go on," he rubs his chin in thought as they both hear the sound of the engines from the shuttle fly over head.
"They're back earlier than expected," Nazz exclaims as she gets to her feet and the both of them set to work preparing themselves for the task at hand, scrubbing down their hands and forearms with soap and water. Approximately five minutes later Kevin and three other men rushed into the adjoining room carrying the gurney with an unconscious man upon it.
They lifted the man off the gurney and onto the med table, which seemed to startle the creature's for its tail which was wrapped round Mr. Jorden's neck tightened and Nat recoiled with a shriek allowing Mr. Jorden's right side to fall on the table. Noticing the stares he was receiving he spat out, "It moved, it fucking moved."
Setting his part of Mr. Jorden down on the table gently Kevin sighed and shook his head, "You afraid it's coming after your pretty face next Goldberg?"
"You never know," Nat said backing up slowly keeping his eyes on the creature.
"Well it's has what it wants right now, and won't be going anywhere," he points over to Edd and Nazz, "Until they make it go somewhere."
Both Edd and Nazz stepped out of the prep room wearing masks gloves and surgical gowns, "Thank you gentlemen, if you could wait outside in case we need you further."
"What further use could we be to you," Nat replied in a huff.
"Disposal," Edd said teasing the jumpy man, the truth was Edd wouldn't mind studying the creature a little, as long as it could be done safely, it was a new organism after all and the scientist in him craved the secrets it might hold.
"Come here brave man," Ed put his arm around Nat, "You can sit by me, I'll keep you safe," and he leads the man out of the door and into the hallway.
As the door opened Edd could see the Jorden family standing against the far wall waiting on any news about the man now lying on the table before him. "Shall we begin," Nazz asked as the door slide closed.
Edd nodded and began to examine the creature attached to Mr. Jorden visually, the parasite was large enough that none of the man's face could be seen. It had eight finger like digits that were gripping the man's head and were large enough that they reached around to the back of his skull, allowing it a firm hold on the man. It had to bladder like sacks on either side that rested on his cheeks, that filled and emptied as his chest rose and fell, the tail was securely wrapped around the man's neck. "Can we get a look on what's going on inside?" Nazz nods her head and pushes a few buttons on the table and it lights up under the man. They needed to know if the creature was feeding on the man or if it had another purpose, for why would it keep him alive if it's going to keep him unconscious, it scream fatal intent to Edd. After the scan had completed its cycle a 3-d model is displayed for them to view right in mid air above the table, rotating slowly so they could get upper lower and side angles of his inner workings.
The creature had two tubules down the man's throat that came out of a central tube that rested in his mouth. The first tubule came to rest in the man's trachea apparently feeding him oxygen, the second went down his esophagus midway then stopped. "It doesn't appear to be feeding on him," Nazz said as she looked at the apparent dossal tubules.
"So the question still remains, what is it doing to him then?" Edd was perplexed at the moment, animals don't do things without a reason behind them, food, shelter, reproduction and survival. But none of these things seem to be indicating why this creature attached itself to this man.
"Shall we attempt to remove it then?"
"Of course," Edd turns and wheals the tray of surgical tools closer to the table, "But be mindful, it is sustaining his life for whatever reason. If it looks like it's killing him we must either quicken our pace or abort the procedure."
"Agreed," Nazz reached over and grabbed a pair of medium sized forceps, "Let's see if we can loosen its grip on him." As soon as she gripped the finger with the forceps the tail tightened around the man's neck, "Alright let's try restraining the tail first." She sets the forceps on the table and helps Edd with the tail, it took the both of them with a great effort to get the tail from around his neck and then to restrain it using thick zip ties, but as soon as the tail was removed the creatures grip upon the man's head increased.
"We must hurry Doctor, if its tail is any indication of its strength it could crush his skull easily," Edd said frantically seeing the vice like grip it now had.
Putting the forceps back on the tray, she picks up a laser scalpel, "I'm going to try cutting the fingers off, just keep an eye on it for me, if it reacts badly let me know." Turning on the device she angles it to begin the cut, a small incision is all she made when a greenish liquid spewed out of the cut and melted the tip of the device, as well as landing on the floor and melting its way through the metal.
"Kevin," Edd called and the man ran into the room, "It's melting through the floor, make sure no one gets hurt." Kevin raced off and down the stairs, Edd turns his attention back to the creature, "Is it still bleeding?"
"No the cut sealed itself rather quickly," the sound of two snaps drew their attention and the zip ties go flying releasing the tail to return to where it was. "This little shit is well defended and exceptionally strong for a parasite."
"Agreed, we can't cut it off without killing the man, and prying it off will have the same affect, let's not even get started that we haven't even tackled the subject of overcoming the fact that it is sustaining his life." Edd looked perplexed, "Should we call it a draw and regroup, study it a little further and come up with a strategy?"
"Yes, that's probably for the best," Nazz removed her gloves and mask, "Now how to tell his wife and kids."
"That is the part of your job I do not envy Doctor," He patted the woman on the shoulder reassuringly as Kevin re-entered the room.
"That stuff ate through two floors easily before stopping." He looked from Edd to Nazz and back to Edd again, "What the hell is that thing?"
"That's what we intend to find out," Edd said as he walked to the other room to change out of his robes while trying to figure out where he should begin looking for answers to what their guest was.