Chapter 282: Surveying Prospects

We've got some interesting stuff now! Minnie, our diamond hearted miner, has something she's been holding out on showing off! No, it's not licking rocks. She's already been doing that. There are other ways to find minerals.

Kat and Rosalyn had been whispering and purposefully keeping out of Ann’s hearing range for a hot minute. Ann was growing concerned about the impending night. She’d only gotten mild ribbing from Lucia for absconding with Rosalyn, but the two girlfriends had been glued mouth to ear since they’d gotten back.

They were up to something; that something involved Ann (likely her cocks), and she was probably going to love it. It had honestly put Ann in a pretty good mood. She was walking with a pep in her step, continuing to hum the tune she’d started when cleaning up. Not only had she just had unrealistically amazing sex, but also had two girlfriends who were probably planning on somehow topping it.

After a thorough investigation of the walls, which Minnie did confirm involved licking them, they’d chosen a path that led them downwards. There was, in fact, another exit under the lake, but that was a last resort since it meant they’d need to leave all of their heavier equipment behind. Kat alone would sink like a boulder in her armour; any mining equipment would meet a similar fate.

“Oooh, rose quartz! I love this stuff. So pretty when you can fit it into a decorative sconce or bracket,” Minnie squealed, running over to the line of pink stone. She made a mark on it, then noted something in a small notepad she’d been referencing.

“What’s that?” Ann asked.

“List of minerals and ores we find. I’ve already seen iron and copper in here, so that’s good. Tin would mean we’re at lower-density stone and metals, which wouldn’t produce Bultrite. Cloudstone being here is the outlier we’re looking for, so we’re in the right spot. Heavier metals and Cloudstone. Hmm, it’s down, for sure.” Minnie bit her pencil as she looked around the tunnel and paused. “Give me a sec.”

Minnie reached back, grabbing a chisel from one of the dangling straps without looking, and raised it to the wall. Setting it, she paused, then moved it an inch to her right, then flicked the end. The tool rang with a loud, clear note. It was like she’d just hit a tuning fork, but the thing looked like solid iron.

Ann gasped as the wall exploded with colour. Lights! Innumerable lights dotted the stone in the full spectrum of colours. It looked like Ann had just stepped into a planetarium or rave. Slackjawed, she wheeled, looking around at everything, trying to figure out what it meant.

“This is a Prospector’s Kine. I worked for years to save up for one, and by the time I got it, I’d started smithing with Tarvis. I’m so happy it got to see real use. Oh! See that! Down there,” Minnie pointed at a collection of brightly glowing yellow dots. “That’s gold! Good! We’re in a really good spot.”

“Why didn’t you do this earlier?” Ann asked. She wasn’t the only one completely overwhelmed. All of her companions were looking around in awe at the visually translated information. It was so beautiful, Ann couldn’t blame them at all.

“Two reasons. First, we weren’t deep enough, so the resonance wouldn’t be strong enough. Second, my Path gets better experience when I don’t use it. Finding metals and materials on my own gives me the best boosts, so I’m not even using this to find the Bultrite. I’m using it to find things that will lead us to Bultrite.”

“Like a detective following clues,” Bren said in hushed wonder as he reached up and touched a glowing dot on the wall. “I have never seen a tool like this. It is truly a marvel.”

“Yeah, and you probably won’t again. Like I said, these things are expensive. It’s the most expensive tool I own, and that forge cost me a pretty copper. Land rights and the rest on top of it… yeah, it still cost less than this thing.”

Ann peeled her eyes off the galaxy of ore to look at the Kine better. She’d never heard of the word before, and it certainly sounded like chime. Maybe it was from a language she didn’t know, or just brand new. Either way, the entire exterior was iron. Whatever was so special about it had to be inside.

“Here, wanna try?” Minnie asked. The glow around them was fading, the walls transitioning back into dark stone.

“You sure?” Ann was hesitant to even touch something so valuable.

“I’m going to hold it. Just need you to give it a good flick. Hard as you like, too. I’ve got the strength to really make it sing.” Minnie looked around. “Damn. Gonna have to be further in to do it. Come on!” She started hiking down the tunnel as the rest followed.

“Why not use the same spot?” Ann asked, trotting to catch up with the woman’s sudden departure.

“Too soon. The resonance points usually take a few years to get back to normal once they’ve been struck. That’s the other thing with these and why they’re so expensive. It’s not just the tool, but the wielder. If I couldn’t map all of that information, or at least the important parts, in that short minute, then I’d have wasted it. Wasting that means I need to go look for another resonance point. It’s not guaranteed that a tunnel system like this even has more than one, either. Well, there might be a couple very weak ones, but what you just saw was a strong example.”

“How does it work? I know our Inlon enchanter would be fascinated by this,” Bren asked. “I can not even see channels for Voltium, nor a gem inset for the core module.”

“All internal,” Minnie said. She rotated the tool to show them the head of the spike. There was a small protrusion; a dome sticking out of the top that Ann had thought was just a hammered detail. “This is the strike point. Gemstone in there amplifies and carries the vibrations into the stone. Once that happens, it pulls in external vibrations and displays their relative direction. Think Lucia caught it, but there were a few Centipedes caught in it. They look like starstreaks since they’re moving.”

“Did,” Lucia nodded. “Was strange. Noticed first. Smudge because move? Makes sense. Thought maybe hundreds dots for feet.”

“They skitter on their legs and drag their bodies, so it depends,” Minnie said. She twirled the Kine in her fingers with a casual confidence that made Ann flinch. “Didn’t catch the worm under us, did you?”

“Worm?” Lucia asked, staring at the ground.

Minnie pointed straight down as she walked. “Yeah. Mid-sized one, but we shouldn’t be getting close enough to piss it off. Borers like to sleep when they’re not eating, so we’ll just make sure not to wake it up! Actually, it looks like we’re getting into a tunnel that’s made by one.”

Ann looked around and noticed that the tunnel had changed from the craggy natural cave structure to a much smoother triangular shape. Triangular? “Shouldn’t a worm tunnel be circular?”

“Who said worms had to be round?” Minnie challenged her.

“I… that’s a good point,” Ann conceded. “What’re the odds we can take it in a fight?”

“Shite,” Kat answered flatly. “We’re underground an’ that thing can eat its way through stone. If it can’t kill us, it can just cave the tunnel in an’ we’re dead.”

“Right,” Minnie confirmed. “If it wakes up, we run like Warped are on our heels until it either loses interest or we’re outside.”

“We usually fight Warped.”

“Ann, I’m sayin’ this, which should mean somethin’, we can’t punch everythin’.”

Ann rolled her eyes at Kat. “Sarcasm, love. It’s a joke, never mind. So we avoid the big triangle worm?”

“Kinda wanna poke it on our way out,” Rosalyn mumbled. “I’ve never seen or read about this one. I’ll check the book out when we make camp. Maybe there’s a way to get it before it senses us.”

“You figure out a way to do that, then you’re gonna save a lot of time and effort for mining crews in this region. Not to mention lives. Hell, you’ll have my personal thanks. Good friend of mine lost his boyfriend to one a while back,” Minnie said.

“Ann?” Rosalyn’s question was sickeningly sweet. Girl was really trying for this one.

Ann sighed. “If we have a confirmed way out.” She held up a hand as Rosalyn’s eyes started to bug out. “ONLY after we finish our first goal here.”

Rosalyn started to bounce on her toes in giddy excitement. “Alright, so what do we gotta do to get this done, Minnie? Need someone to lick some more rocks? I’ll do it!”

“Just follow my lead,” Minnie said patiently.

Thus ensued even more walking. Ann’s paws were starting to get sore. The cave floor was so uneven, and since no one had been down here, the floor was rough, and the rocks were sharp. Ann had stopped a couple times to check, and on the last pause, her pads were actually bleeding. Bren had healed her up, and Minnie provided a few strips of leather to wrap and protect. It didn’t feel right. Ann’s paws couldn’t spread like she was used to, and her claws weren’t making contact at the right angles. The overwhelming urge rose to kick her legs and get the improvised boots off. This is why dogs did that waddle. Shit, she was doing the waddle!

Ann glared at Bren as he choked back a guffaw. “Sorry!”

“Wait until you get paws, motherfucker,” Ann growled, taking a couple more steps. “Ugh. It’s so restrictive! Pixel just fell over whenever I put something on her paws. Now I get it! This sucks!”

“Ye put shite on yer cat?” Kat asked. Asked was being generous. She managed the question over cackling laughter. Laughter that made her flinch and bite down on her lip to stop.

“I tried! Little outfits and things like that. Thought it was cute, but it just made her a little burrito of suffering. She haaaated it.” Ann succumbed to the kickies. It felt so good, but didn’t relieve any of the annoyance. “Ugh! I’m just going to have to fight through this. Does this shit count as bondage?”

“You… oh Gods,” Bren wheezed, “your feet are literally bound. I would say it does.”

“Great, even the prude is getting in on that one.” Ann willed her leg to stop trying to thrash the stupid leather off, and she stood there, closing her eyes and trying to focus on just getting used to the sensation.

I will rip your throat out if you try it.

You have no clue I was thinking that, Ann shot back.

You were, and I do. It will not happen. You will never catch me, nor sense me when I attack.

Big words for the wolf teaching me how to sense you.

A pup has much to learn. Take the hint.

Ann sighed. “Alright, let’s just go. This isn’t going to get better just milling around here.”

“Well, here’s the thing,” Minnie said, turning away from the wall she’d been licking. “See that gap down there?” She pointed.

Ann did see the gap. The narrow, dark gap half hidden behind a stalagmite.

“That’s our way forward.”

“Fuck you.”

“Only if we get the ore,” Minnie said so fast she had to have said that on autopilot. “It’s going to be a tight squeeze. Shut up. None of this is going to sound right after that, and I…” Minnie’s cheeks flushed as she stumbled over her words. “This will be a slightly difficult spot to get through.” She pronounced every word with careful diction. “Kat, you’re going to need to get rid of the armour. Bags are pushed ahead of us. Ann, you’re actually going to have the best time of this with the Dexterity I’ve seen you use. Kat, I’m sorry.”

Kat groaned. “Can’t we just blast the damn thing open? Lightning or somethin’?”

“You want to meet the worm?”

“Nae.”

“Then we crawl.”

“Feeeeeeeeeck fine.”

It took a bit for them to get all of the necessary gear off and either stuffed in their bags or attached in a way that could be moved through the passage. Ann had lost her gorgette, but her other gear was close-fitting enough that she could keep it. Kat’s shield and armour were so bulky that her stuff had been split up. Ann, being the first in line, had been assigned the shield.

“So, you done this before?” Minnie asked, kneeling next to the crevice.

“Nope,” Ann shook her head. “Was really hoping not to.”

“Too bad.”

Ann knew Minnie was trying to be honest with her, trying to sound confident. The bluntness still annoyed her a little in this case. Maybe Minnie was worried, too, or this was just how she taught.

“You’re going to shove your bag ahead of you. Every time you catch up to it, you push it further up. Kat’s shield isn’t sharp enough to cut it, right?”

Ann shook her head.

“Good. So do your best to use it to move the bag. Just keep pushing and moving until you’re out. Push the bag ahead, crawl up to it, repeat. Watch out for any gaps in the floor, any outcroppings from the ceiling that could snag on you or the equipment. Call them back to me so I can coach the rest through. Honestly, I’m least worried about you here. I need you through first so you can help anyone who gets stuck from that side.”

Ah, ok, she was worried. Ann nodded, looking at the gap. “Think my claws are going to give me enough leverage to push me along?”

Minnie looked at Ann’s bound feet. “Probably. If not, use your gauntlets and try to dig handholds into the floor. Careful that you only hit the floor. It looks structurally sound, but I don’t want chances. Make sure you move the extra to the side, too.”

“Why? Wouldn’t gravel reduce friction?”

“Yeah, it would, but it could also catch on shit, and if something’s sharp, it could stab them. Pain, and someone freaks out, gets stuck, and we’re dealing with a much more difficult process.”

“Alright, so just wiggle through with Kat’s shield and my bag, and we help the rest.”

“Yeah. I’m sending Kat through before I head through last. I really don’t need her getting stuck and scaring the others.”

“I don’t think she’ll freak out. Girl is braver than most people I’ve seen.”

Minnie nodded absently, cocking her head at different angles as she peered through the crack. “Yeah, well, I’ve seen brave people lose it when the reality of a mountain pressing in on their back hits. I don’t know how it’s going to go, really, but I’m trying here.”

“Yeah, I get it,” Ann said, patting Minnie’s shoulder. “I’ve got this. Just do what you need to.”

Minnie dusted her hands off with a series of claps. “Alright, people! We’re ready to go through. Ann’s first, I’m last. Bren, head in second, then Rosalyn, Lucia, then Kat. No question is a stupid question right now. Ask before it becomes a problem, and we’ll get through this quickly.”

When no one asked anything, Minnie nodded at Ann. “Alright, paws. See you on the other side.”

“Damnit, I was going to say that,” Ann laughed. She knelt, shoved her bag into the gap ahead of her, then the shield. “Here goes.”

Grace grumbled to herself as the crackling inside her helmet grew worse. The Bortislav Empire’s communications were terrible on a good day. Not like they’d spare anything decent for an Alfhindur slave. Fucking bastards. She picked her way through the densely forested hills, her form-fitting suit hugging her as she tried not to get it torn. That would earn her a whipping. Her ears ached, remembering the day the monstrous humans had cropped away her heritage, leaving her formerly long and pointed ears rounded stubs like theirs.

“Specialist Holson. Pick up the pace,” her supervisor barked through the static.

Specialist. Hah. She’d always hated that designation. Just because she had shown a talent for working with the unknown, they’d stuck her in this job and called her a specialist. Really, she was just a disposable piece of meat they sent out to interact with any crazy Warped they found. Disposable, but crucial. They’d never risk human lives like this. Still, she marched on, her pouch of tools bouncing off her hip as she peered through the glass-filled slit in the metal helmet.

Today’s mission was nothing different from the usual. Precognitors had sensed something out here and sent a team to investigate. It was usually some creature that would need to be put down after the team got any data from it and probably lost a few members. There were always deaths.

Grace was in her seventies. Still young for an Alfhindur, but an adult through and through. She was thin, gangly, and kept barely on the good side of malnourished. As such, her body had next to no fat. Where her breasts should be were small bumps, and her hips were a bony nightmare. Still, the lack of fat accentuated her strong cheekbones and sharp jawline, giving her a hawkish look. On the rare day she earned a reward, she’d easily found another of her kind that wanted her. That and her coppery hair was seen as exotic. She kept it as long as she was allowed, which was down to her shoulders. How she wished she could let it fall further.

Up ahead, the ground sloped downward. A hill, most likely, or maybe one of the craters left by the Return Wars. Ancient echoes of the violence when the Gods had returned to Earth. Didn’t matter much to her. She trudged forward, her sealed boots crunching leaves and sticks. Enchantments woven through her helmet let her breathe, thank the Gods. Sometimes she wondered if an especially cruel supervisor would turn that ability down or even off. Wouldn’t put it past them.

“Descending,” she said into the small jewel to the right of her lips. Honestly, this suit was probably worth more than she was. If she died, they’d probably just leave her body here and take the suit. Just more meat for the forest.

“Affirmative. Report any unknowns,” the voice crackled back.

She walked in silence. It didn’t do any good to chatter. It’d only get her punished later. Not that she wanted to talk to the supervisor. It’d be nice if she was linked to her compatriots. They were out here somewhere, doing exactly what she was, looking for something out of place and possibly dangerous. None of them knew what that might be, but it was their job.

A red glow broke through the treeline ahead. That was weird.

“Sighting. Red light through the trees. Approaching with caution.”

“Proceed.”

Slowly, she picked her way forward over roots and rocks, ducking low-hanging branches. Her heart pounded in her chest. If this was one of the twisted monstrosities that they called Warped, she’d be dead as soon as it noticed her. A branch scraped off her helmet. She froze. Fear boiled in her veins. Nothing moved, so she kept going.

“Update?” her supervisor demanded.

“Approaching edge of clearing,” Grace whispered.

She cleared the last line of trees and was met with a sight that took her breath away. It wasn’t a creature. At least, it sure didn’t look like one. It was a… tree? Kinda? It had roots that sank into the soft soil, a large central trunk of what looked like wood, but that’s where the similarities ended. Its branches were thick protrusions, bulbous, and waving slowly in the air. Oh yeah, and they were glowing a crimson hue that her eyes didn’t want to see. They watered whenever she made direct eye contact, making her turn away and blink.

“Contact,” Grace whispered. “Large being. Eight meters tall, though that changes constantly. About four meters wide at the trunk. Appears to be a tree of some sort, with waving arms that look nothing like branches. They’re round and smooth and glow a disorienting shade of red. I experience discomfort when looking directly at them.”

There was a pause. No response. Grace stayed where she was.

“Approach,” the voice commanded.

It was the one order she didn’t want to hear. The one she’d be forced to obey. Either that or die.

“Acknowledged,” she growled back.

Slowly, she stepped out from behind the tree and into that ruddy light. “No movement. No indication that it notices me,” Grace narrated. Her arms and legs were shaking. Fear did that to her. Made her unsteady. She wanted to run so badly. Still, she took another step, and another. “Approaching slowly. No movement. It may not possess sight.”

She walked right up to the thing. Still, it made no attempt to crush her, grab her, tear her limb from limb, impale her, eat her. The list was extensive. She’d seen her comrades go through all of them. Lucky her that she survived all of it.

That’s what her Path was called, ironically. Survivor. Slaves didn’t get much choice in their Paths, not in Bortislav. Grace’s had been a choice of necessity. If she wanted to live in this world, she needed to survive, and the Gods heard her wish. For twenty years, she had amassed experience and skills. She’d chosen several which had increased her resistance to toxins, let her hide when necessary, and become generally more hardy. None of those had given her ears back. Her parents had been so proud of them. Then, on the day she got her Path, they were cropped like every other Alfhindur.

“Collect samples if possible,” the voice came through.

“I would rather…”

“That is an order. Argument has earned you five lashes.”

Grace cursed in her head. Voicing her feelings would just lead to more severe punishments. Crouching down, she pulled the bag off her shoulder and rummaged through it. A set of glass vials and containers clinked as she pulled out her collection tools. Magitech devices that allowed her to pierce pretty much anything and take a tube of it. She could also cut portions out and siphon liquids. Crazy what the scientists had come up with.

Taking the one that pulled a core out of things, she knelt by the tree and placed a hand against the bark. Well, she’d thought it was bark. It was warm, even through her suit’s glove. That meant the thing had to be blazing hot, right? The suit had some level of environmental protection. Couldn’t have their “specialists” dying in extreme heat or cold before they got any useful data.

She’d been distracted by her own thoughts. At the last second, she noticed movement. A small worm? Something like that. No, it had legs. It launched itself at her. With no time to react, she watched as the thing passed through her suit like it wasn’t even there. That shouldn’t be possible! Falling back, she scrabbled at the place it had invaded. Nothing was there. She felt around her belly. Bones in their right place. Muscles under paper-thin skin. No sign of a creature. She turned around, and it wasn’t there behind her.

“Uh, reporting,” Grace stammered. “Contact made. A creature, possibly secondary to the main, touched me. Small, perhaps five centimetres. Worm-like but with many legs. It was red like the tree. I don’t think this thing is a tree. It’s warm. Maybe scalding. I can feel it through my suit. Secondary creature seems to have disappeared after making contact with me. It appeared to pass through my suit just below my ribs. No damage to the suit is visible. It’s like it just… melted?”

“Anything else?” the supervisor asked.

“No, sir,” Grace replied, still poking at her abdomen. Her fear was starting to give way to curiosity. What had that little creature been?

“Proceed with sample collection, then return to camp. We will need to study this creature.”

“Understood,” Grace said. She got to work, taking three cores, which were stored in vials, a cutting, and several scrapings of the bark, and a soil sample. All the while, she felt like something was wrong. The “tree” never reacted to anything she did. Warped would have gotten violent by now. Was this a passive one? Did those even exist? She only had her own experiences to inform her, and so far, they’d all been brutal.

Packing her things up, she stood. Just then, a warmth blossomed in her torso. Just below her ribs. Well, sort of. It was exactly where the creature had made contact with her. It felt… good? Fear filled her heart. That thing was still with her. She needed to get back. Maybe the humans could get it out of her?

She started walking. About twenty metres from the “tree”, the warmth spread. It was covering a coin-sized space before, but now it was about the size of her hand. She examined the area again and paled. The suit had changed. Where it once was tightly woven fabric, a seamless, slightly bumpy texture met her eyes. She prodded it. No reaction. Strange. She tried to move it around, but it stuck there.

“Suit seems to be, um, changing?” Grace reported.

“Describe,” the voice crackled back.

“Where the creature made contact. It’s not fabric anymore. It’s seamless, and a little bumpy. Still the normal black, though.”

“Return with haste,” the voice barked.

“Understood,” Grace said, not bothering to hide the fear in her voice. They never told her to get back quickly. Something had to be really wrong.

She walked as fast as she could, but her muscles just weren’t cut out for running. She tired easily. Only enough food to keep her functioning, but not healthy by any means. All the while, that warmth in her abdomen spread. At first, it crept to the sides, wrapping around her torso like the hugs her mother used to give her. By the time she got to the top of the hill, it had completed that part and was now spreading outwards. It crept down her stomach and up towards her chest.

Panic rose in her. Her breathing sped up. What had they called it? Hyperventilating? What did it matter? Sparing a glance down, Grace’s fears were confirmed. The odd texture was spreading with the warmth. It had just passed her belly button and was still going south. The upper reaches were about to hit her breasts.

Cursing, she pushed her muscles harder. She needed to get back. Now!

A shock of pleasure overwhelmed her body. Her vision went white. Her hearing stopped working. Slowly, she felt something between her legs. That warmth. Gods, did it feel incredible there. It was all she could do not to moan loudly into the helmet. It was like her insides were being tickled. Something was directly attacking whatever made her feel good down there.

“Specialist!” the supervisor barked. “Report! Tracking shows your movements have stopped. Delays will not be tolerated!”

“Can’t… walk…” Grace groaned through clenched teeth. “Feels… too good.”

“What feels good? Report!”

“The thing!” Grace cried, and suddenly, the overwhelming pleasure went away. She still felt something. That warmth was enveloping her lower abdomen and hips entirely. It was just not driving her insane anymore. Panting, she continued her report. “Suit’s changes reached my, um, between my legs. Immobilising pleasure hit me.”

“Can you continue?”

“Maybe. It’s faded for now.”

“Then do so.”

No sympathy. Figures.

Grace rose on shaky legs. Shakier legs, that is. One step at a time, she told herself. What in the Hells was happening to her? She felt the creature still working away at her suit. Right now, it had stopped progressing up her chest, just barely covering her breasts, and was more focused on her legs. That slick, yet slightly bumpy substance that had replaced her suit reached down over her thighs. It felt so damn good, too. Her body was burning from exertion, but whatever this was had relieved the pain in anything it was touching. Maybe the heat was helping? She had no way of knowing.

Trees began to thin around her. She was getting close to camp. Another ten minutes or so and she’d be in sight.

The creature had other ideas. It surged downwards, capturing her legs entirely. Grace fell face-first into the dirt and leaves. Pain sparked in her nose as it cracked against the front of the helmet.

“Gods damnit!” she cried, rolling herself over.

“Problem?” the voice requested.

“Yeah. The damn thing got to my legs. I can’t move them,” Grace reported. “Sir, give me a couple minutes to see if I can move again.”

“Request approved. You have five minutes.”

Five minutes. Hah. Well, at least that was something. Grace lay there. She didn’t want to move if she didn’t have to. Her body needed to recover.

The downside to that was that it gave the creature more time to do its thing. It was starting something new. While it slowly resumed spreading up her chest, her belly started feeling… strange. Like something was touching it. The feeling spread just about as quickly as the thing itself had. As it did, the feeling stopped in waves, leaving her feeling… nothing? Like the suit wasn’t there anymore. Then a new sensation hit her.

Grace sat up with a jolt.

Wind!

She’d felt the wind across her stomach!

Prodding again at the area, she confirmed it. Something had changed. She could feel the suit now. Well, not the suit, but what was outside the suit?

Panic.

This was what it was like to be a Warped, right? Changes to her body. Later would come her mind. With how fast this thing was progressing, when did she start losing herself? Becoming less and less until she was a monster bent on killing everything around her?

Grace tried to push herself away. It wouldn’t work. She was running from her own body. Did her mind care? Fuck no, it didn’t. She needed to escape!

Desperate, she grabbed a piece of the substance and tried to pull it away. Pain spread in her stomach as she yanked at it. Pain as if she were doing this to her own body. Her own skin. The realisation hit her. That’s what it was doing. It wasn’t just changing the suit. It was making the suit become her skin!

She kicked at the grass, resuming her backward scramble. Wait. Her legs were working again! Looking down, she noticed something else. They’d changed as well. Fuller. Stronger looking. How was that possible? She hadn’t eaten, hadn’t had time to work out. Just slavery. Not even her Path allowed her that much. Yet here she was, looking at shiny black supple legs extending from hips that looked alien to her. Even those had filled out. She poked gingerly at them and found padding there. She’d never had that. Always skin and bones.

Host, a voice whispered in her mind.

Grace screamed.

Quiet. Safe. Helping.

The fuck it was. It was changing her. Warping her! How long would it be until she was just another monster?

No fear. Only pleasure.

A tide of sensations wracked her body. Her toes felt every bump of the leaves under them, and her legs could sense the sticks underneath them. Last of all, she realised how soaking wet she was between her legs.

Good. Helping, the thing said again. Accept?

Grace sat there, confused. Had it just asked her for permission? That wasn’t normal.

Accept? It repeated.

“What happens if I do?” she asked, ignoring questions from the supervisors barking in her ears.

Help. Freedom. Pleasure. Propagation.

“So you want more? What happens to me?”

Stay. Still you. Better. Smarter. Stronger.

Grace had to reckon with that for a minute. This sounded too good to be true.

Need acceptance. Can’t complete.

Grace shook. It could sense her thoughts. Should she do this? The thing had spread to her arms now, covering her hands in the slippery substance that was becoming her skin. It reached up to her helmet but stopped at the seal.

Faintly, she heard footsteps getting closer, muffled by the helmet. Someone was coming for her.

Looking down, she saw strips of glowing red spreading across her torso. Her chest was now entirely of the black substance, exposing her glowing red nipples to the air. Looking further down, she found her sex to be much the same. Black, but glowing red inside. She held a hand up. Her fingertips were the same luminescent crimson.

She doubted there was any going back from this point. Do it, she thought.

An overwhelming sensation of melting hit her. The helmet got smaller, shrinking. Grace screamed in instinctual panic as the metal closed in. Her vision went dark for a brief moment, but it quickly cleared. Reaching up, touching herself, she felt her face. It was still her face. Thank the gods. She didn’t have a mirror, but she knew that her skin was now the same black as the rest of her suit. Continuing her exploration, her heart sank as she touched skin where her hair should be. Of course, the thing had taken that from her.

“Specialist!” a voice called to her, only several feet away. Gods, her hearing felt sharper. Even the call from that far away felt like he was shouting in her ear. She put her hands over her ears, then gasped. Long, slender, pointed ears! Her ears!

“Specialist, are you still with us?” the man asked, pointing a weapon at her.

“Yes. Specialist Grace Holson. Number six-two-one-seven. I am still me.”

“Explain your appearance,” the human man demanded.

“I’ve been reporting it to the supervisor. Whatever I found changed my suit. I think it’s my skin now.”

“Do you have any knowledge of it being contagious?” the man asked.

We are. Careful.

“No,” Grace lied. “I don’t think so. It’s just my skin.” It was so much deeper. Thoughts began to fill her head as the transformation continued. Intimately, she began to understand how the creature had connected to her nerves, her mind itself. It had woven itself into every part of her being. She felt her thought process quicken, her body changing to function more efficiently. Everything was changing.

Spread, the creature asked of her. More.

We need to be careful, Grace thought back. They’ll kill us if we seem threatening.

“Can you stand?” the man asked.

“I… I don’t think so,” Grace responded. This time it was the truth. She didn’t trust her new legs. Even if they looked stronger, she had no idea how they’d hold up.

The man groaned. “Five-three-eight, two-two-seven-nine, assist Specialist Holson back to camp.”

Two other slaves walked out from behind the man. Both were Thrundol, their ruddy green skin sickly and tusks shaved away. A man and a woman. Each seized her under an arm and hoisted her between them. Gods, they were tall. Well, Grace was pretty short, but still.

Spread now?

How long does it take for someone new? Grace asked.

Hours. Make them feel good like you.

Why was mine so quick?

First spawn. Speed needed. Take time with rest.

It made sense to Grace. Of course, the first host needed to be taken quickly. It was their vector. Their way of propagating. Once that person was taken, the rest could be spread slowly, subtly. They would all feel like she did. Incredible.

Grace shook that thought out of her head. That didn’t sound like her. Was she really being Warped by this thing? Well, obviously she was, but it had said she’d stay who she was. That needed a deeper examination. If that was something she actually wanted, then she had concerns about her own mental well-being. Though again, spreading this to her fellow slaves didn’t sound all that bad. They’d be stronger, smarter, so much more sensitive to the world around them. She couldn’t deny that the pleasure was a very enticing part as well.

Is there anything else needed?

Seal. Enclosed. Must use for new form.

Well, the normal slaves aren’t going to have that, but if we infect them, does it still start?

No. Needs seal. Dormant.

Then go ahead. Just these two for now.

Grace felt tiny tendrils, thinner than hair, extend from her arms where they made contact with her fellow slaves. The man and woman didn’t even notice as the tendrils pushed through their skin and disappeared. This thing was terrifyingly good at infiltrating.

“Specialist Holson,” her supervisor called. He was standing at the front of a big white tent. Quarantine. He was a stocky human, his grey hair cut in a tight crop, and his eyes full of malice. “You are to be sequestered and monitored. Testing will begin shortly. If you are cleared, five lashes will be administered as soon as possible for arguing with orders. Get inside.” He spoke every word with disgust, as if he were talking to a pile of shit. They all did. Every human like him.

“Fucking humans,” Grace said under her breath.

The two holding her up gave barely noticeable nods as they pulled her inside the white tent.