Chapter One
What is in a name?
It was warm, like it had always been for so long. Just the same, comfortable feeling that had always been there. Nothing else. It surrounded her at all times and kept her safe. It meant that she had nothing to worry about. She enjoyed it. Even when she grew board of it, somehow it still brought her comfort, knowing that she was safe.
Every once in a while, she would wriggle and shift, trying to find a more comfortable position. The slime that surrounded her small form made it easy to do. Soon, after trying a few different positions, she settled back down and fell into the sleep like state that she spent most of her time in. Her mind truly blank of all thoughts.
Time past.
How much of it? She could not tell. Her rather limited intelligence prevented her from really grasp the concept of time. So, the hours passed by, the days came and went and got lost like a snowflake in a vast field of frozen droplets. All she truly knew was the moment she was in.
She had almost not noticed when something new happened. Something so subtle to her, yet quite dramatic to the outside world. Something was moving, shifting around her. She could feel the pressure change around her, telling her that something was happening. Friend or foe, she could not tell.
There was a shift, something opened, she felt the cool air touch her skin for the first time. Motion above her, her instincts kicked in. A quick lunge, a tight squeezed hard around something, then stillness.
She drifted in and out, not really knowing what was happening. There was a soft rhythmic sound as something puled near her. It was calming. The warmth, the wetness. It reminded her of where she had been before, where she had been comfortable.
Eventually, something was not right, she was itchy. Her body was very uncomfortable, she needed to stretch, she needed to get out. She squeezed and pushed in many directions, but only found that one gave way. Should she be doing this? Was this right? Something told her that it was ok, this was meant to be. It would all be ok. She moved more, trying to find space for herself. That was when something came to her, a feeling that was not hers. A feeling that she needed to be calm, that she should not fight against her situation. She calmed, rested and stayed still once more.
It was not long after that when she started to notice something changing. Something she did not like. Wherever she was, it was becoming tight. Too tight. She shifted slightly and found a position that suited her much better. She settled and drifted into slumber but not long later, she was taken from her sleep. Her body once again was pushing up against the walls of her domain. This time, she felt anger. She did not like being squeezed so much. It hurt. She wanted it to stop, it hurt, she had to make it stop.
She began to push, hard.
She searched for somewhere else to be, somewhere that was more comfortable. But no matter where she pushed, she could not find anywhere to go. She was trapped.
It hurt.
She didn't know what to do, she had nowhere to go. She did the only thing she could think of. She started to push harder, in any direction she pushed with all her might. She paused when something moved slightly against her force. There! That was it, that was the way out. She pushed harder and harder, feeling something crack under the pressure. It gave her a bit more room, but she needed more, needed room to move.
She continued to pushed when she felt something began to shake and twitch. She began to panic and the world around her rumbled and shifted violently. It frightened her. Her instincts caused her to coil her body, using her own body shape to push off something behind her. Her tiny head slammed into the hard barrier that she had been attempting to break through. She felt it give way more and more as she slammed into it over and over again.
All of a sudden, with one last thrust, the wall gave way and she was thrown into a void.
The only thing that stopped her from going further was her long body that was mostly still within its warm cocoon. She paused and enjoyed the space that she had now found. She hurt no more. Her vision was suddenly filled with fuzzy gray scale objects with splashes of color. She looked to each one, wanting to know what it was in front of her. They were beautiful to look at.
Just as she started to calm, movement to her right caught her attention and caused her to panic. She looked to this much larger creature as it approached.
She was in danger, she had to find somewhere to hide, somewhere safe. She lunged forward, wanting to pull herself from what-ever she had been inside of.
A sharp pain stabbed her head as it impacted something she had not seen. Something smooth and flat that had been in front of her. She let out a loud screech before she turned to flee in a new direction. She slammed into another wall that she could not see. She tried another direction with the same result. She was trapped. She had nowhere to go.
She looked back to the larger creature that she knew was approaching with fear. She was going to die. Or so she thought until a voice within her mind told her otherwise.
"Calm little…one, everything is…is alright. You are alright." Her voice was somehow familiar and foreign at the same time. Like someone she had always known, but not seen in a very long time. It was strange. As the words filled her mind, so did a strange stillness of her emotions.
"Who?" She asked as she curled in upon herself. It was more a feeling than words that she had formed within her mind.
"I am…your mother. My…name is Jolene." The voice responded.
She looked up at the large figure that was now looking down at her from above. It did not move, just observed her in silence.
"Mother?" She asked, looking up at the intimidating figure. There was a moment of silence that was not reassuring.
"No, little one. That is…not me. But you need… to stay calm. They are going to…pick you up and….and put you somewhere. Just stay…stay calm." The voice explained. She could hear the fear behind her words.
She did not trust this, not when she felt the fear behind the words that were being given to her. It caused her to react violently. When the figure's hand opened the container and came towards her, she took a bite out of it. The blood flowed as she felt the flesh rip from bone. The figure yelled and retreated.
"God damn it, my fucking hand! I thought you said this one was compliant? Get me a containment vessel, NOW!" She heard the thunderous commands from the one she had injured as she tried to coiled up as small as she could.
But she had nowhere to go.
"No! Please, little one, you… do not hurt them. You need… need to be good."
She didn't understand. She felt that whoever it was in front of her meant her harm, despite the words from her unseen mother. The lid to the container opened once more, but this time a long object came towards her. It was slender, with a large claw coming towards her.
"Mother? Mother! No, mother!" She screamed as she bit down hard on the metal arms of the large medical tongs. Despite her strength, she could not harm the tool that now gripped her body, squeezing down hard on her softer exterior. She let out a loud shriek in pain.
"Little one, please…it's…it's alright. Just…don't fight. I'm…I'm sorry. I'm so…sorry." Mother told her. She must have somehow known that she was in pain.
"Mother, no!" She screamed, hoping that it would somehow get her out of the situation. The only response was a tighter grip from the tool that was now lifting her up into the air.
"It will… be alright. They are just moving you…to another room. You…you will be ok. I promise." Jolene told her.
Suddenly, there was a warm wave that flooded her body. As it did, her fear was taken from her and left with a sense of stillness.
"Mother?" She asked, not knowing what had just happened.
"Shhh…it will…be ok little one. I am… here. I will always… be here." Somehow, she knew that her mother was not lying. That she would do everything in her power to be here for her.
She stopped fighting, stopped biting hard upon the cold metal of the tongs with her small mouth. She relaxed and accepted what was happing to her. Something told her to trust her mother. A strong feeling that took over her mind and body.
She was lifted then placed into a small container of some kind as then taken through a few sets of doors and into a different room. The box was made of something clear, so she was able to watch as other strange creatures passed her by. Some paused to look down upon her, other walked by as if she did not exist.
She had found herself a corner and curled up to protect herself from any new threat that might arise. She did not like this, not one bit. But she would listen to mother, she trusted her. A short trip later, her container was lifted and placed into a large empty room. No windows, just a single door where she had been delivered from.
She was placed on the ground with a loud thud before the large figure made its way back out of the room. A few moments later she heard a soft pop and felt a rush of fresh air enter the container. She looked up and gathered that some part of the box had opened, releasing her from her prison.
She reached out towards the lid of the box, where she could now see a gap in the top. She pressed it with her head and was glad when it started to move. Stretching outward, she was meet with no resistance as she passed the top of the container, letting her out into the much larger room.
Fully out of the container and upon the cold metal of the floor, she finally had time to look around and take in her surroundings. It was a dull room with nothing but a door and a window. A window that she could not see through. In her grayscale vision, there was nothing. No colors or smells to show her anything new. She slithered around the floor looking for any way to escape. But who ever had put her here had done a perfect job of making sure there was no way out. After a while she reached out.
"Mother?" She asked a bit nervously. She was afraid that she was in danger and that mother would not be able to help. Thankfully her response was almost instant.
"Yes, little one? I…am here. Everything is alright."
"Here?" She didn't really understand the word, but she could understand the feeling behind it.
"Here? We… are in a lab, somewhere underground. I…I'm sorry, that is all I know." She explained with shame on her words.
"Underground?" The newborn asked.
"It means that the… surface is above us. We… are deep in the earth."
"Earth?" She had so many questions for her mother, she didn't know where to start.
"Yes… little one. For now, rest. You…need to gather your…strength."
Suddenly she felt the overwhelming need to rest, despite a moment ago when she was wide awake. It was almost as if the feeling was being forced upon her by something else. Her head became heavy, her breathing taking on a rhythmic pattern. And even though she could see everything happening around her, her mind had drifted off into some strange type of dreamscape.
She tossed awake sometime later to her body feeling strange. Something was not right. She was itchy all over and she felt tight. She rubbed her small face on the floor and was glad to find a bit of relief. Looking down, she was meet with a small pile of slime and flesh. Was she covered in something? She rubbed a different part of her head on the smooth, metal once again and watched as more slime and flesh fell from her body. It was almost as if she had been placed inside a soft, plastic bag that had then been placed around her. She began to rub her more of her face upon the smooth surface of the ground, peeling more and more flesh from herself. It felt so good as the layers released itself from her head.
She began to rub every part of her body on the floor, trying to scratch every inch of her the best she could. It felt so good to be rid of the outer layer of flesh that was now falling away. Peeling away like wet paper. It was amazing. The feeling had not gone unnoticed.
"Little one, are…you alright?" It was mother, she was still here!
"Alright." She answered as another large piece of dead flesh slid off of her midsection. "Here?" She asked, wanting to know if her mother would stay with her.
"Yes, little one. I'll… stay here…with you. I am…always here." Her mother replied. Something flushed through her tiny body, like a wave of heat from a fire. It was…comforting. She let the feeling take over her mind as she continued to rub upon the floor. "You are… molting, aren't you?" Came her mother's voice once more.
"Molting…yes, molting. I'm alright?"
"Yes, that is…alright. You…are supposed to be. It means you are getting…bigger, my daughter."
"Be strong?" She felt happiness come into her mind from some unseen source. Somehow, she knew it had come from her mother.
"Yes, my daughter. You are getting…much…much stronger. Soon, you…will be beautiful."
"Beautiful…strong…I will be." She repeated the words in her mind. Almost letting them become her purpose. Something that she knew she needed to work towards. She was not sure why, but it felt right. "I will be strong and beautiful."
"Yes. O, I have some…something for you, little one." She waited for her mother to finish. "Astarte…your name is Astarte."
"Astarte?" She could not understand the feeling behind this word.
"She was an Egyptian warrior goddess who was known for many things." As her mother talked within her mind,
she could sense something else behind her words. Something that she was trying to hide.
"Mother? Astarte?" The silent response only solidified her suspicions. "Mother?"
"It…it reminds me of your father. I think… he would have liked it."
The words were followed with a wonderful feeling of love and warmth. She let it fill her body and soul as she continued to remove the outer layer of flesh from herself.
Father…there was something about this that made mother very happy. Astarte would have to find out what it was.
