Nightshade: A SimLit | Chapter 110: StrangerVille Things

 

WELCOME TO STRANGERVILLE

The desert sun reflected off the rusted, rickety sign on the side of the road as the group drove past. It was a small and rural town; with modest cozy homes lining the worn-down streets and picturesque canyon scenery on the outskirts. There was nothing strange about it, from first glance, contrary to its name.

But looks can be deceiving. 

Just inside of town was a bed and breakfast, rather outdated looking and perhaps not the most luxurious place to stay -- it was, however, the only place to stay, and therefore the place that Alexander booked rooms ahead of time. The drive had been long, it was getting late, and everyone was exhausted by the time they pulled into the gravel parking space in front of the inn. 

"Well, we're here! This is gonna be great." Alexander was the only member of the group completely unbothered by any of the aforementioned problems as he got out of the car and finally stretched his cramped-up limbs. The others were far less amused as they exited, save for his sister, the only one just as eager to stick her nose where it didn't belong as he was. Onyx silently slid out of the drivers' seat and circled around to the trunk to unload the crammed in luggage. 

"I'm not so sure about that," Orion muttered.

"Can you remind me why I agreed to let you drag me out to this... sweltering tumbleweed town?" Aurora whined, something she'd been doing for the past several hours.

"Because," Alexander explained on the way to the door, arm lazily draped around Amelia's shoulders, "there's a scientific mystery to solve and I want to be the one to get to the bottom of it."

It all had started when rumors began spreading that there was something, well, strange happening in StrangerVille.  There were allegedly reports of unusual occurrences -- unidentified plant species springing up, violent outbursts and mysterious illnesses among civilians, and shady behavior from military personnel. Of course, gossip like this spread among his colleagues like wildfire at work, and when it got back to him, he couldn't say no to the adventure of sleuthing out the answers. It was then that Alexander devised a plan. A foolproof, totally-not-dangerous plan: 

He was dragging the whole squad to StrangerVille and doing a whole bunch of possibly illegal stuff. For the greater good. Obviously.

"I'm still not so sure this is a good idea. We could get into serious trouble," Orion said. 

Alexander raised an eyebrow. "You waited until we got here to express that concern?"

"No, I've been saying that all week since you planned this trip, you just haven't been listening!"

"He never listens to anything," Skylar chimed in.

"Ugh, tell me about it!" Aurora rolled her eyes for dramatic emphasis. "I tried everything to get him to cancel this trip. Nagging, whining, the silent treatment--"

"How long did the silent treatment actually last, though?" Skylar asked.

"...two hours..."

Ignoring the banter behind them as they reached the porch, Alexander warmly smiled. "At least you're in this with me." 

"I'm always with you," Amelia said. 

The door ahead of them creaked when it swung open. A middle-aged woman, dressed almost elaborately enough to mismatch the town around them, stepped out, catching everyone's attention with the sound of her heels clicking against the worn wood.

"Welcome to Strangerville!" She was beautiful, but her too-wide grin was unsettling. "May I show y'all to your rooms?"

No one said a word at first. Alexander awkwardly cleared his throat and stepped forward. "Yeah, thank you, uh..."

"Jolene," the woman stated. 

He nodded. "Jolene." 

The rest of the group opted to trail behind the two as they made their way into the inn. It was nicer inside than expected; comfortingly homey if nothing else. 

"Nice place," Amelia idly remarked, scanning the room for any signs of abnormality. There was nothing strange at all, save for the creepy mounted fish on the wall.

Orion took one glance in their direction and shuddered under the gaze of their beady glass eyes. "Y-Yeah, nice..."

"It's... I like the..." Aurora's voice trailed off. She searched for something -- anything -- to compliment. "...that's a nice rug," she lied. Truthfully, she thought the rug was dreadful. 

Onyx was the only one who was visibly unimpressed. There was something about the place that didn't sit right with him; he only could hope the feeling was meaningless. 

"Thank you, darlin'," Jolene said. Her voice was sing-song and cheerful on every word she spoke in an unnatural way that made Alexander's skin crawl beside of her. He fell slightly behind in pace. "So, what brings y'all here?"

"Well, we all needed a trip, and we heard about the... rumors going around. Thought we'd investigate just for fun," Alexander answered. 

She stopped dead in her tracks and glanced over her shoulder. "Rumors?"

Alexander's stomach lurched at her change of tone. "Y-Yeah, the rumors that there are strange things going on around here? Surely you've heard them, since you live here?"

Jolene's eyebrows furrowed, the glint in her emerald orbs darkening. "I don't know what you've heard, but there isn't a single strange thing goin' on here. This is a nice town filled with nice folks, and I won't listen to no outsiders sayin' any differently. You can't believe everything you hear... so you'd best not meddle where you don't belong, understood?"

The eerie silence that followed as she led them upstairs only added to the tense atmosphere that lingered the rest of the evening.

---

Alexander was restless, still tossing and turning long after Aurora had fallen asleep beside of him. He tried everything: fluffing his pillow at least a hundred times, using her as a pillow and desperately trying to focus on nothing but the steady rise and fall of her chest beneath him, counting sheep, scrolling through his phone, just laying there and hoping he'd get bored enough to doze off...

Nothing worked. Nothing could pull his mind away from the uneasiness slowly consuming him. Whatever was going on in Strangerville couldn't wait until tomorrow. He needed answers and he needed them now; he was certain he could find some clues around here somewhere. Jolene was hiding something. She had to be. He sat up and crept out of bed, careful not to awaken Aurora on his way out of their room. 

He knew just the person to recruit for help with snooping in the middle of the night.

_____

"Are you sure," Onyx breathlessly began between kisses, "that now is a good time for this? Here?"

"You're just now asking?" Amelia's lips curled into a playful smile before briefly pressing against his. 

"Someone could hear us," he started again as she peppered kisses along his jaw, "and the door isn't even locked..."

"Well, you'll just have to be quiet, then, won't you?" Amelia teased. "Unless you want me to stop?" 

The hand that wasn't gripping the sheets beside of him languidly trailed up his chest and to his shoulder before she retracted it. His hand shot up to grab her wrist, keeping it in place before it could get any farther away. "I never said that."

Their lips met again. The kiss was teeming with desire, only pausing to take hasty breaths. Onyx's hands ghosted along her muscled thighs which were firmly planted on either side of him, exposed in their entirety by the hem of the silken chemise draped from her shoulders. He was certain she'd worn it just to tempt him. It worked.

When they parted, Amelia leaned forward to press their foreheads together and carded her fingers through his raven hair. "I love you..."

"I love you too, darling," Onyx whispered. He nuzzled his face against her neck, feeling her pulse pounding against his lips as she tilted her head to grant him better access. She shuddered when his breath tickled her skin and tightened her grip enough to pull lightly at his hair. Fangs pressed against her pulse point just hard enough cause her breath to hitch at the spine-tingling sensation, eliciting a smirk from him that she felt but couldn't see.

"You're such a tease," she huffed. 

"So are you."

Amelia shrugged the straps off her shoulders, letting the chemise fall from her torso, sensually catching her lower lip between her teeth as she met his gaze. "Am I?" she purred.

This woman was going to be the death of him someday. He crashed his lips against hers more roughly than he intended. The searing heat of their bodies pressed together overwhelmed their senses; they were too caught up somewhere in between love and lust to notice the soft footsteps approaching the door as she started to free her hips from the remaining pesky garment. 

The door flung open without warning. "Psst, Amelia, are you awake--"

"--OH GOD!" Alexander shrieked, shielding his eyes far too late to actually protect himself from seeing things that would scar him for life. "W-What the f--"

"Have you ever heard of knocking!?" Amelia interrupted, scrambling off of Onyx and desperately yanking the sheet over herself. It wasn't clear who was more embarrassed: her or her brother.

"I-I didn't think--"

"What was so urgent that you couldn't knock first?" Onyx was clearly exasperated but in no way surprised. 

"You better be dying, 'cause if you're not, you will be soon," Amelia grumbled. 

Alexander continued stammering and fumbling for an answer. When he couldn't come up with one, he only looked more humiliated. "K-Know what? Never mind, I'm good! I'll just... go! Sorry for interrupting, hope I didn't kill the mood--"

Amelia tossed her pillow at him and hit him square in the face. "Get out!"

 "Right, right, I'm going!" He turned and stumbled, smacking straight into the door on his way out. 

Onyx flinched as it slammed. "...if the others didn't hear the racket, they certainly heard that."

Amelia sank further beneath the sheets. "Please don't make this any worse than it already is, I already want to crawl in a hole and die..."

__________

"Why did I hear screaming?"

"Is something going on?"

"...what were they doing in there?"

Alexander had no idea how answer the barrage of questions sprung onto him no sooner than he managed to stumble away from the bedroom door -- which could have taken a longer time than he thought, he didn't actually know -- so he didn't at first. Instead, he opted for a pathetic vocalization of distress and rapid blinking to clear the disturbing image burned into the backs of his eyelids, which was unfortunately ineffective. "Uhhh..." 

"You look like you've seen a ghost," Orion said, careful not to speak too loudly.

Alexander tried to laugh it off, but it only made him seem like he was coming unhinged. "No, of course not! It was nothing, really, just my sister's naked a--"

"What's the meaning of all this noise?" Jolene's words thundered, startling everyone out of their current conversation. "Why are you out of your rooms?"

"We heard a commotion," Skylar explained, "so we were just making sure everything was okay."

All eyes fell to Alexander. He gulped. "I was just... I couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd take a look around. Y-Y'know, just go for a stroll..."

Jolene trudged toward him. "You were planning on snooping." 

"So what if I was? Is that a crime?" 

"It's an invasion of privacy." Her voice grew colder by the second. "Stop meddling in business that isn't yours. Whatever it is that you came to StrangerVille to investigate? You need to let it go... for your own good."

"For my own good?" Alexander sneered. "Or else what?"

Jolene leaned forward, the last of her sunny disposition wiped off of her face in exchange for an emotionless glare. "You don't want to find out."

She left them with her ominous and unsettling warning. No one slept for the rest of the night, especially not Alexander for more reasons than one.

---

The Next Morning...

"Alright, gang, here's the plan. We split up--"

"Splitting up is always a bad idea!" Orion whined. 

"--into two groups of three," Alexander continued, ignoring his friend's objections, "one goes to the saloon to question locals, one goes to the library to dig for information." 

"How are we deciding who goes where?" Onyx asked.

He shrugged. "I haven't really thought about that."

Skylar briefly considered their options. "Uh, maybe Onyx, Amelia, and Alexander--"

Onyx interrupted. "There's no way I'll be able to keep them both out of trouble singlehandedly."

"What about girls go to the bar, guys go to the library?" Aurora suggested.

"I second that," Orion said.

"Yeah, because you're boring." Alexander rolled his eyes. "How come the girls get to have all the fun?"

He frowned. "The library is fun."

"Because Orion won't be any good at interrogating people and all three of us will, if that wasn't already obvious," Aurora said.

"...Fair point."

"Okay, then it's settled. The boys can go be bored to death reading some books, and we," Amelia paused to glance between the girls, grinning from ear to ear, "will go politely ask around for more info."

Onyx turned to Alexander. "I don't trust the way she said that. Do you trust the way she said that?"

"Absolutely not."

_____

Alexander was certain he'd been staring at the clock long enough for a year to crawl by. In actuality, it was fifteen minutes since he sat down and started watching it, but time is a social construct anyway. His lungs rattled out a heavy sigh as he leaned back in the likely antique and hardly comfortable library chair. "I'm so bored."

"Then help me look through these books," Orion said. His hand idly brushed across some spines as he scanned the words printed on them. 

Alexander frowned. "I've already went through a bunch of newspaper archives on the computer! What more do you want from me?"

"I-I don't know, I just want us to find... something. Anything. You'd think if something strange really was going on here, there would be evidence somewhere... unless..."

"...they're covering it up so people can't find it?" Alexander guessed. 

"Exactly." 

Silence fell between the group again as Orion resumed his searching. Alexander turned his focus to Onyx, who'd had his nose shoved in what he assumed was the same book for a while. "So..."

"Mm?" Onyx was focused, not really listening.

"...about what happened last night..."

Onyx defensively tossed a hand up and lowered the book. "Alexander, we are not talking about this."

At first, he had intended to apologize, not to tease him... but the temptation was too great. "What? Are you embarrassed that I found you in such a compromising position? Specifically, underneath--"

"I'm embarrassed for Amelia's sake, because her privacy was invaded--"

"You were already invading her privacy, though, weren't you?"

Orion shot a mortified glance at them, eavesdropping against his better judgement. 

"Do you have any sense of shame?" Onyx deadpanned. 

"...I mean, yeah, I didn't sleep last night after, uh. That. If it makes you feel any better."

He resumed reading. "A little."

Orion whispered in Alexander's direction. "Y-You're saying the whole commotion last night was because you saw Onyx and Amelia... um... doing stuff?"

"Well, they were about to," he whispered. "I'm kind of scarred for life. I opened the door and she was, like, on him, and literally stripping--"

"I can hear both of you!" Onyx snapped, startling Orion enough to send him silently back to work. "I'm trying to read!"

Alexander raised an eyebrow. "What's so fascinating about that book?" 

"Well, it's a journal of sorts by some conspiracy theorist that lives here named Erwin Pries," Onyx said. "There's certainly a plethora of topics he's written about investigating. Bigfoot, the Windenburg Sea Monster, the haunting of the Von Haunt Estate... and, of course, StrangerVille."

Orion frowned. "We can't really go off of what a conspiracy theorist says, though... most people wouldn't." 

"Right, people would read this and think he's crazy. That's why he could publish it, and why it's here in the library when nothing else with this sort of information seems to be. Maybe he's not a crazy conspiracy theorist... maybe he's a genius."

"Hold on, you're onto something!" Alexander jumped out of his seat. "What's it say!?"

"Apparently, the rumors of strange things  happening here have been going around for a while. The book was published last year, so it isn't exactly up to date, but this whole conspiracy theory circles back around to the military being responsible. People think they're hiding some... deep, dark secret at the base."

"Like everyone else that works for our pathetic government," Alexander grumbled. "They're probably building nuclear weapons."

Orion paled. "N-Nuclear weapons?"

Onyx shook his head. "No. Whatever it is, it's affecting the locals. Listen to this:

Folks around town have started changing ever since the strange plants showed up. They're unlike anything I've ever seen. My theory right now is that they're some sort of weird alien pods sent from outer space to take over the world, but I'll need to do some more sleuthing. Whatever they are, they're growing in high concentrations around the military base. Every rumor and report I've heard seems to lead back to there... is this REALLY just a conspiracy like the government wants us to think? I don't think so. I set up this whole plan to storm the base, break in, and find the truth... but no one else I know was willing to take that risk and help out. Maybe some secrets aren't meant to be discovered after all."

Orion's interest piqued as he glanced over his shoulder. "Alien plants?"

"Think they're really from Sixam?" Alexander asked.

"I don't know, I'd have to see one..."

"You will." Alexander stood decisively. "Because it sounds like busting into the military base is our next move."

---

Meanwhile...

The hinges on the saloon doors squeaked as they swung shut behind the trio of women. It wasn't a fancy place by any measure, heavily outdated and worn down from years of traffic, but it had a sort of homey atmosphere regardless. There weren't many people here, but there was a handful of military personnel. 

"Jackpot," Amelia murmured, eyes scanning the room ahead of them. "Let's split up and see what the military men have to say, shall we?"

"As if they'll spill secrets to nosy strangers," Skylar whispered.

Aurora shook her head. "Oh, there are ways to get them to talk, don't worry. They just need a little... incentive." 

"Incentive?"

 "Watch this." She sauntered over to man sitting alone at a table across the bar. He was young, handsome, unwed judging by his empty ring finger -- the perfect victim of womanly charms. "Excuse me? Sir?"

His eyes trailed up from the tabletop as she bent over, centering her chest in his line vision, but he quickly moved on from the distraction with an awkward clearing of his throat. "Can I help you, miss?"

"I was just wondering," she began in a low, sultry tone, chest purposely heaving with each breath between words, "are the rumors around here... true? Does the military have any information about the weird stuff going on?"

"I-I'm afraid that's confidential, miss. But you can rest assured that this town is safe."

"Confidential?" Aurora leaned closer. "So you do know something?" 

"W-Well," he stammered, "yes, which is why I'm reassuring you that you have no need to worry."

"I can keep a secret, sir," she insisted, further lowering herself toward him until the loose cloth of her neckline threatened to sag dangerously low. "I'm a good girl, I swear. Please? Don't make me beg for it... I'll feel so much better if you tell me what's going on."

The man in front of her was sweating bullets. "I-I don't know much, I'm not of a particularly high ranking, so I don't have access to certain... restricted areas, but... the government is conducting some sort of research at the base. There's a lab there. It's linked to the strange occurrences, I know that much, but we're supposed to deny the government's involvement." 

"Research?" Her eyebrows raised. "How would I access this lab? In theory?"

"What are you, one of those conspiracy theorists? A journalist? You can't tell anyone--"

"I won't. I told you I can keep a secret, didn't I?" She fluttered her lashes. "You can't tell me you're not curious about what's down there. If you help me out, I'll make it worth your while..."

He wasn't sure if she meant sharing her findings or something else, but either way, the man reached for an item in his pocket against his own will. "...You'll need a keycard."

_____

"So you've seen people acting strange yourself?"

The black-haired man fidgeted in the seat beside her. "I was on security duty at the base one night. You know, patrolling outside to make sure no one broke in... that's when I saw her outside the fence. A woman, complexion not much lighter than yours; probably around thirty-five if I had to guess. Her body was... was contorting in ways no natural human being could move. It was like she was possessed. She looked at me with this big, blank grin... I feel sick just remembering."

"Possessed?" The hairs on Skylar's arms raised at his description. 

He nodded grimly. "Like something was controlling her. Something... sinister."

_____

"What do you mean you can't give me any information?"

"I mean that no amount of harassment is going to make me tell you anything," the soldier bitterly stated. 

Amelia glared. "I don't think you understand. I'm not asking for answers, I'm demanding them. So I'll ask again: what do you know about the strange occurrences in StrangerVille?"

"You're the one who doesn't understand!" The man sneered. "This is none of your concern! Even if I told you what you want to hear -- which I won't -- there's nothing you could do about it. You're just a girl."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You're in no way capable of accomplishing any grand feats. You must be what, five feet tall?"

"Five-three!" Amelia snapped. 

"That's besides the point--"

"I wasn't finished," she interrupted with an accusatory point. "You think you're a big tough man and I'm weak, is that it!?"

Taken aback, he threw his arms up defensively and trailed his eyes down to her firmly toned stomach, exposed more by the slightly-lifting hem of her top. She did look strong -- perhaps a little stronger than someone he'd be willing to start a bar fight with. "No, I--"

"You don't know what I'm capable of," her eyes narrowed, "but you'll find out if you don't start talking."

Skylar, only noticing the ongoing situations after her conversation with the soldier ended, could hardly stand to watch either of them. Sure, it would be worth it for vital information, but resorting to intimidation and seduction? Talk about secondhand embarrassment...

---

"So, the good news: we found some information that indicates we'll find answers at the military base," Alexander explained to the now reassembled group.

"And the bad news?" Amelia asked. 

"...we have to break into it and I have no idea how."

"Yeah, that is bad news," Aurora sighed. "But do you think... maybe we could get in with this?" She slipped the newly acquired keycard out of her pocket, discreetly flashing it to him before tucking it back in.

His eyes widened. "Is that--"

"A keycard," she confirmed. "It'll give us access to the entire base, including the top-secret lab inside it."

A smirk crept across Amelia's face at the sight of the boys' disbelief. "Well?"

Alexander lit up with a bewildered laugh. "That's great! We'll head out first thing in the morning. But how did you even... where did you get that!?"

Orion was more skeptical. "You didn't do anything illegal, r-right?"

"Orion, we're about to do something way more illegal than swiping a key."

Amelia grinned. "We didn't swipe it, I swear."

"You... really don't want to know how we got it," Skylar murmured, unfortunately loudly enough for everyone to hear.

"How Aurora got it," Amelia corrected.

 Aurora laughed awkwardly, contorting into an expression somewhere between a grin and a grimace. "I-It wasn't a big deal, really... I just tried my breast-- I-I mean best!" 

---

That night wasn't any less sleepless than the one before it, at least not for Alexander. His nagging curiosity left him tossing and turning until he was out of bed once again, tirelessly pacing back and forth in front of the window across from the bed. Lost in deep thought about tomorrow's planned adventure, he didn't pay any mind to what was going on outside the window at first -- not until he caught sight of something peculiar from the corner of his eye. He stilled momentarily. In a few cautious steps, he was close enough to the glass panes to see in detail.

Bright pink spores floated aimlessly in the air, seemingly produced by the very large -- and very otherworldly, he was certain -- plants that had sprouted and grown to several feet tall in mere hours. Ominous purple storm clouds were gathered in a distant vortex, accompanied by rolls of thunder that shook the building beneath his feet. 

They were out of time before they ever knew it was ticking.

It was then that he rushed to round up the others, stammering out only half-sensical explanations as he woke them and scurried from room to room. Their tired confusion only lasted long enough for them to get dressed and step outside -- the cause for panic became exceedingly clear afterward. 

Pink lightning flashed inside the growing vortex, causing another quake that sent them stumbling to regain their footing. The storm had consumed the distant military base, and it didn't intend to stop there. 

"What is that?" Amelia was the first to find the courage to speak.

"Whatever it is," Alexander carefully replied, "it isn't... natural."

Skylar frowned. "I think that's obvious. Whatever's creating the storm must have created the plants and spores, too." 

"The only question is what could create something like this," Onyx added.

While the rest of the group considered their next move, Orion and Aurora instead investigated the strange plants.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Orion asked, stooping down to take a better look at the roots.

She pondered. "This is from Sixam. There's no doubt about it, but... I've never seen anything quite like it."

"T-That's what I was thinking..."

Alexander called to them from the other side of the street. "Guys, come on! We're taking the car and heading to the military base!"

The two exchanged worried glances. "I have a bad feeling about this," he quietly confessed.

"...Me too."

---

"This way!" Amelia softly called over her shoulder. The rickety, rusted gateway she stood in led to an entrance into the military base: a small door that was left completely unguarded. "I don't see any soldiers or guards anywhere. I'd say that's odd, but considering the storm and the earthquakes..." Her voice trailed off as she proceeded forward and the others followed suit, scanning the area for any signs of danger. Aside from the rolling thunder, it was quiet. 

Too quiet.

"Hand me the keycard," she whispered to Alexander, who quickly dug it out of his pocket. She took it from him and swiped it in the slot on the high-tech doorknob, eliciting a beep before the lock clicked open.  "We're in." 

The group's first steps into the building were careful and cautious. The walls and worn floor tiles were stark gray and white, and so were the majority of the furnishings. Windows were few and far between, giving the space a claustrophobic feeling despite its size. If it weren't for the papers and files littering nearly every surface, the room would feel too clean and unassuming.

Alexander sucked in a breath. "How do we even start?"

"By splitting up and searching every nook and cranny for answers," Amelia said.

With no better ideas than that, everyone split off into pairs and began the painstaking process of turning the whole room upside-down. No book was left unread, no folder unopened, no paper unchecked. Information was cryptic and hard to come across, so Skylar finally gave up her search and wandered deeper inside, hoping to find something more promising. 

She was met with a huge, high-tech door in an otherwise quite empty room. One glance at it would convey to anyone that something serious laid beyond it -- certainly something that could hold the answers to Strangerville's mystery. "Guys?" Skylar started, trailing her fingers over the locking mechanism, "I think I'm gonna need that keycard."

_____

The atmosphere beyond the door was different. The lights were dim in the stairwell that led down to an equally dark, long hallway; galvanized from floor to ceiling like some sort of bunker. At the end of the hall were heavy duty acrylic-paned doors -- why did they need to be shatterproof? -- that Alexander was the first to walk through, gasping silently as he did.

"This lab is amazing," he said, pausing to take it all in as the others came in behind him. 

Orion fidgeted. "Y-Yeah, but why do they need a giant lab down here...?"

"It looks like they're conducting some sort of experiments, or maybe research?" Alexander guessed, his eyes scanning over the computer screen on the machine in front of him. "On what I don't know, but I'm sure they'll have plenty of information and records stored digitally..."

"The problem is that their computers and data are certainly protected by passwords. Maybe even encrypted," Skylar said.

"Lucky for us, I know how to hack."

She scowled. "Is it only a coincidence you excel at criminal activities?" 

"Hey, we're all currently committing a crime, not just me!"

"Because you brought us here to commit them!"

"What the heck is that thing?" Onyx muttered to no one in particular, only half wanting an answer to the question, as he made his way over to a glass pod encasing a large pink tendril. 

He didn't notice Aurora was tagging along with him until she spoke. "Looks like a tentacle to me." She scrunched up her nose. "That only supports me and Orion's theory that the weird plants are somehow linked to Sixam. This had to come from something alien..."

He shot her a puzzled glance. "What makes you say that?"

Her eyebrows raised as though he'd asked her something shocking. "Because, y'know, tentacles?"

Onyx's expression changed to one of slight disturbance.

"...never mind."

"Where are all these coming from?" Orion wondered aloud, approaching a wall partly covered in vines reminiscent of the plants they'd seen earlier. Gingerly, he ran a hand along a stem and flinched when a thorn pricked his skin. Whatever the vines were, he thought they had to be coming from something much larger. 

And then he struggled to think anything at all.

It started as a sudden, dull throb, easy to mistake for the onset of a headache, but every second the pain grew more vivid and his mind more hazy. He brought a trembling hand to his temple; that's when he heard the voices, a unified chorus as though they were one, beckoning him, reverberating through his body:

T̶̡̙̎̈́̏H̶͖͂Ḙ̷̱̟͌͑̚ ̴̭͚̎͘M̷͇̒̽O̸̯̿̈́T̸̳͝Ĥ̸̞̭̱̐E̸̬͋̀͛ͅR̸̙͒̽ ̴̤̐̈̈́K̷̻̻̈́N̸̘͖̣̊͆́O̷̙̻̎͝W̸̰͙̟͛͝Ş̸̑̍ ̸͔͍̈́͑A̵̘̚͜L̴̨͔͔̑́̊L̶͔̮͎̐͠͝.̴̳̓.̴̻̥̗̎͐̚.̶̠͉̅ ̸̳̥̽D̵̙̊Õ̴̧̗ ̸̮̭̍͝N̶̹̗͙̎̾O̸̫̻̓̓͘T̶̜̠̉̊̊ ̷̹̮͂̅̚͜R̵̝̻̤̕E̷͖̤͐͊̐Ş̸̛̃̐Í̷̤̤͂Ş̶͓́̇T̶̡̛͇͕̓ ̸̳̫̈͝͝H̷͙͍͛E̴̛͍R̶̳͆.̸̭̩͛.̴̣̑̾̄.̷̩͑

[THE MOTHER KNOWS ALL... DO NOT RESIST HER...]

Orion's agonized scream was nearly silence in his own ears; the last thing he heard was another voice -- a familiar one this time -- calling out to him before he slipped away entirely.

Skylar was at his side a few moments too late. His screaming had ceased, replaced with the silence of an distant stare. "O-Orion?" A hand cautiously reached out for him. Something was terribly wrong; that much she knew. 

Orion smiled at her. So wide that his lips looked as though they could split his face apart, but the smile was devoid of any real indication of joy -- it was empty, it sent shivers down her spine and made every muscle in her body ache to run. His peeled-open eyes fixated on hers as he twitched and contorted unnaturally, his wobbly legs struggling to gain the traction to carry him closer to her. "S... Sk..."

She took a shaky step back. He pursued. 

"Sky..."

"Y-You," she paused to swallow the rising lump in her throat, "you're not Orion..."

His grin stretched sickeningly wider.

"Ě̸̖̦̳͙̋M̵͈̙̓̄B̶̲̪̹̫̈́R̵͕̗̐̀̓Ä̸͈̀͠C̸͓̿̾̀̊E̷̟͚̝͋̉͑ ̴͔͇̾͛͝T̷̛͔̬̰̿H̸̹̋̓̐E̷͙̪̣̕͜͠ ̵̧͖̫̐͑M̷͖̳͔̅̉͘O̴̱͈͇̓͆̑T̴̩͉̈́H̷͙͈̾̀Ḙ̶̈́͘͝͝R̷͇̞̔̈́̐̄.̸̡̡̖̦͆́̐̓.̸̤́̊̈.̵͔̗͋̑ ̸̬̠̂S̵̩̫̟̜̓̅͗H̵̛̙E̸̡̧̲͉̊̆̋̕ ̴̻́̾̃͊Ẁ̸̥I̷̘̦̗̒͊̈́͠L̷̖̺͈̫̇́L̶͓̘͛͐ ̶̟̪͑B̴̛͉̍͘R̷̦̞͖̀̐̉̓Ì̵̦̊͝N̵̰͎̳̓Ǵ̷̨̜̩͖̿̌̄ ̸̛͎͚͐̀͝Ú̶̺̼̐S̷̗̹̟̪̔͊̾ ̶̙̼̒͑P̷̻̒͝E̴̮̣̱̊͆Ȁ̸̧̖̈́̾̕C̴̢͎̖̦̅̽̉͋E̵̢͕̭̟͆͠͠.̶̭̱̟͘͜.̸͚͑̌̈́.̶̭̲̈͘"

["EMBRACE THE MOTHER... SHE WILL BRING US PEACE..."]

She leaned away as he lurched forward and forced herself to smile at him despite her fear. "Guys, we have a serious problem over here," she said through clenched teeth.

Stunned, Amelia hesitated before responding. "...So I think we've figured out the rumors about people acting crazy."

"Okay, so... pros, we know the weird plant stuff is apparently what's making people crazy! Cons, I'm still not done hacking into this computer system," Alexander gulped.

"Well, hurry it up before we encounter more problems!"

"I'm trying!"

"I just don't understand," Skylar said, turning her attention back to Orion, "who or what is 'the mother?' He isn't making any sense..."

"You're right." Onyx tightly folded his arms. "It must mean something, but--"

He wasn't able to finish his response before Orion lunged forward without warning, sinking his teeth into Skylar's arm. She yelped and struggled against his grasp until he let go, leaving grisly punctures in her skin -- proof of his determination despite the fact he lacked vampire fangs. Heart pounding, she stared at him with a mixture of pain and disbelief on her face. "W-What just happened!?"

Alexander spoke without looking at her, too focused on the computer screen in front of him. "Um, new theory, this is a zombie apocalypse!"

"Zombies don't exist, you know that, right?" Onyx asked.

"Yeah, they never exist until some weird virus sort of like this one breaks out and they start gnawing people's..." Alexander's voice trailed off. "...Skylar? You good?"

"N-No, something... something's wrong, I..." The room was spinning around her. She stumbled, losing her balance as confusion and pain overwhelmed her senses. But she couldn't scream. She couldn't speak. She couldn't think.

"Oh, come on, don't tell me he transmitted this... virus or whatever to her, too!" Alexander whined.

Judging by the eerie grin that spread across her face, he absolutely had.

J̶̣̒Ò̴̙̋I̸̜̽̿N̶̟̫̑ ̴̗̲̍U̵̺͝S̶̗͇͊.̴̻͈͒́.̴̺̀͋.̷͇̿͜ ̴̞̉Ć̷̨̺O̶̜͌̆N̴̨͛S̴͉͋U̵̯̰̅M̶̛̟̑E̷͕͈̊̚ ̸͈̀Ṱ̶́͠Ḩ̸̛Ȇ̸͇ ̵̭̿F̸͍̮̃Ŕ̸̻̙U̸̺͕͊̊Í̵̡͚T̸͔̂ ̴̩̾̄O̶͓̽F̶̮͈̚ ̶͙̐͂Ṭ̶͆́Ḫ̵͋̏E̴̡͌̃ ̸̥̩̉M̴̗̎̎Ô̴̬Ṭ̴̎̏Ḧ̴̘́͋Ḕ̵̢̱R̷̪̆ ̴̨̀̊Â̸͈͇N̸̏͠ͅḊ̸͈͛ ̶͚͔͑K̵̼͖̎N̸͔̔̄Ȯ̸̼̮W̴͙̿ ̴̖̈́P̵̐͆͜Ḛ̴̗̊A̴̝̞͒͘C̴͕̪̈́͑Ȩ̸͑̏.̸̢̰͗̕.̵̤̖̈́͘.̴͈̂͂

["JOIN US... CONSUME THE FRUIT OF THE MOTHER AND KNOW PEACE..."]

Their voices were in an unnaturally perfect unison. Onyx and Aurora exchanged terrified glances as the pair staggered in their direction with too-wide grins plastered on their faces. 

"I think this is the part where we run," Aurora said.

Onyx hastily nodded. "Agreed!"

Orion and Skylar lunged to pursue them, stumbling with every step but somehow managing not to fall. Aurora squealed when the other woman's hand nearly managed to latch onto her arm.

 "Get them to the door, we'll shove them out and lock it from the inside!" Onyx yelled.

"Good thinking!" 

The two zoomed past Amelia and Alexander, who were both yelling at the situation as though they were attending a sports game.

"HE'S GONNA GET YOU! SWERVE LEFT!"

"RUN FASTER!"

"GOGOGOGOGO--"

"Will both of you SHUT UP!?" Aurora cried. They arrived at the lab doors and wasted no time pulling them open; the harder part was shoving the two out without being bitten.

They managed and, once the door was securely locked, turned to catch their breath. On the other side, Orion and Skylar inhumanly shrieked and slammed against the glass.

"I hope it'll hold," Onyx murmured. 

"It's probably shatterproof," Alexander said, approaching. "You guys okay?"

"Nope!" Aurora cheerfully, but breathlessly, responded. 

"You know, I just don't get it," He sighed as he turned to resume hacking the computer. "They kept talking about the "mother..." who the heck is that? And what does it have to do with all this?"

Onyx frowned. "The answers have to be here somewhere."

Amelia had managed to slip away from the others. She crept to the far end of the room, studying the mysterious vines and following their path around a corner. They trailed into a hallway with another locked door on the opposite end. Her curiosity outweighed her common sense as she started a slow descent down the hall; eyes wide in anticipation of what could lie at the end of it. The vines writhed underneath the click of her heels and the fringe on her boots. With one quick swipe of the keycard, the doors opened to something she couldn't believe, regardless if she was seeing it. "H-Hey, uh... guys?"

"Yeah?" Alexander answered. 

"I think," Amelia cautiously stated, "I found their mommy."

_____

"Okay, so, let's go over this totally normal situation we've found ourselves in!" Alexander tried his best to seem like he had it all under control, but the three knew him well enough to know he was under enough pressure to start cracking. "My best hypothesis: there are weird alien plants that are infecting people and getting them a, uh... very special kind of high."

"That's a way to look at it," Aurora mumbled.

"Which makes these people start talking about a mysterious "mother," which we can only assume is the terrifying and seemingly sentient plant over there," he continued, jerking his head in the direction of the recently opened door, "which is also the hivemind linked to aforementioned weird plants."

Amelia nodded. "Okay, I'm following so far."

"I found plenty of notes to support something along those lines in the computer systems, but we don't have time for analyzing them. There's something far more important anyway: scientists were working on an immunization against what they called possession by the Mother, in order to safely dispose of it."

"Did they finish it?"

"No," he sighed. "I'll have to figure out the rest of the serum's formula myself. That will require... test subjects."

"Test subjects?" Onyx asked. "This a bad idea..."

"It's my only idea," he grimly replied. 

"What happens if you get the formula wrong?" Amelia questioned.

"I don't know for sure. It'll probably infect you, but that's just the risk we have to--"

"I'll do it."

His eyebrows furrowed with worry. "I-I can't let you do that... what if I fail?"

"Someone has to do it, Alexander," she insisted.

"I know that, but--"

"He should test it on me," Aurora interrupted. "You'll have to find a way to kill the Mother, right? I'm the least useful member of the team. I lose it over chipping a nail, I won't be helpful in the heat of battle."

"Is now a bad time to ask how we plan on fighting a giant plant?" Onyx inquired.

"I'm not using my sister or my wife as a lab rat!" Alexander groaned. "I'll just test it on Onyx."

"I'm glad to know I have such high value to you," he quipped. 

"No, you need Onyx. He's the biggest one out of all of us, and probably the strongest," Aurora tried to reason. "I'm doing it. It's the only logical way forward."

"She's right," Amelia gently added. "It's the safest play out of the cards we've been dealt."

Alexander pursed his quivering lips and wordlessly turned back to the computer screen. It felt like hours crawling by to the rest of the group, helpless to do anything but watch his shaking hands scurry back and forth from the keyboard to the chemistry equipment. Every last detail of his work was meticulously done, but when the first serum was complete, he seemed even less certain than when he'd started. 

"Is it ready?" Aurora asked, more terrified of the answer than she'd admit.

"I-I... I think so." He turned to face her, the frankly disgusting looking bottled liquid in hand. "Are you ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," she chuckled dryly, but he didn't seem amused. 

"Here," Alexander trembled as he handed her the bottle. "Drink all of it, and, um, just in case this doesn't work--"

"Don't get sappy on me."

He finally cracked a smile. "I just want you to know I love you and I'm sorry for turning you into a creepy smiling zombie. Not that I think it's not going to work! I-I'm really optimistic about it, but, you know. Just in case."

"I'm sure you'll find away to make it up to me if it doesn't," she said with a wink, then held the bottle to her lips and drank.

Aurora forced herself not to gag. It tasted just as gross as it looked, but she finished it quickly and lowered the bottle. For a very long, tense moment, she felt fine.

And then, just as things were starting to seem like they could be a success, that moment ended. Pain wracked through her body so quickly that she didn't even have a chance to scream before it ended and her lips curved into an all-too-familiar grin.

Ó̶̮̾P̷̙͙͕̒Ȇ̸̛̫͚͓̿N̶͖̈̾̋ ̷̝̂Y̷̏̊̚ͅO̶̎̒͜U̸̗̺̼͗͒̚Ṟ̸͌ ̵̝̲́̅E̷̹͙͒Y̴̙̜̬͛̿E̴̳̱͔̒S̸̛͔͓̣͌̔ ̶͚̓̉T̵̖͑̇Ơ̷͓̞̇ ̶̧͖̅T̶͍̺̋͌Ḩ̸̡̮͐̏͝Ê̸̛̮̐ ̷̪̳̼̿̈B̸̭̯̃͑̂Ė̸̢̪A̵̦̯̳̓͘͠U̶̧͉̤̅͋̑T̸̡̏̾͝Y̵̺̿͐͝ͅ ̵͙̔O̴͍̻͝͝F̷̗͈̑́͑ ̶̨̥̔͘H̷̦̰̎͊̇E̴͔̞̓̈́͝R̶̛͇̉ ̷̹̾B̶͍͗̅L̸̦͉̓͐O̸̜̣̒Ś̵̝̯̀S̴̲̈Ô̶̦̝̺M̷̭̝͐͘S̷̭͗̽̈́͜.̴̧̈́͛.̴̢́̐͘͜.̴̬̰͚̒"̸̢͙̈́̈́̕ͅ

["OPEN YOUR EYES TO THE BEAUTY OF HER BLOSSOMS..."]

She pounced into action, grasping onto Onyx's arm with a snarl, jaws opening in preparation to bite him. 

"A-Aurora!" Alexander cried, reaching out to stop her, but there wasn't anything he could do to stop her. He could only watch as Onyx thrashed his way out of her grip and lured her to the door, locking her out with the rest of their crazed comrades. 

_____

"Are you sure about this?" Amelia asked Onyx, gingerly resting a hand on the back of his shoulder. He was tense, watching as Alexander bottled the second attempt at the immunization serum that would hopefully, but not certainly, work this time.

"I think Alexander and I both agree that you're the last person we want testing this," he said with a nod. 

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure you could take down the Mother single-handedly if you needed to," Alexander added with an awkward laugh. His expression quickly turned solemn as he approached them. "Ready?" He extended his hand to him, offering the bottled serum.

Onyx took it and unscrewed the lid. "Not really, but I guess I'm drinking this anyway," he said, then turned up the bottle and drank. He cringed at the taste, but managed to swallow it all. 

Seconds passed. Five, ten, thirty. No one realized they'd been holding their breath until he took a deep one, staring down at himself for any sign of abnormality -- as if it wouldn't be obvious the serum failed. "I... I think it worked."

"Go touch one of the plants and see what happens," Alexander hesitantly suggested. 

He followed his orders, walking over to the nearest vines on the wall and running a hand along them. There was no reaction, no possession -- the immunization worked.

"It really worked!" Amelia exclaimed. "I knew you could do it! Now we all just have to drink some, and figure out how exactly we're dealing with the Mother. That's the next challenge."

"Actually, I think I already know." Alexander thoughtfully smirked. "First, we're gonna need a big batch of this serum..."

---

"Okay, guys, this is it! Remember the plan!"

The Mother stood at attention at the sound of Alexander's bellowing voice. The platform beneath them quaked as it writhed, nearly causing them to lose their footing -- but that would be bad, considering there was a giant pit below them.

"R-Right, the plan," Onyx muttered. "If we live long enough to execute it..."

The Mother opened its gaping maw to let out a hair-raising screech, which reverberated through the room as a tendril-like tongue slithered out of the orifice atop its head. It didn't have eyes, but it could taste a fresh meal -- or three, to be exact -- in the air. Tentacles squelched wetly as they separated themselves from the ground, raising into the air in preparation to envelop their prey. Drool dripped from its fleshy petals. It was hungry. It was ravenous.

They were as good as dead.

"Holy crap," Alexander marveled, fixated on the creature in front of him, "this thing is amazing..."

"A-Amazing!?" Onyx choked. "It just looks hungry to me!"

"It's about to look dead," Amelia corrected.

"It sort of reminds me of this TV show I watched on Simflix where--"

He was interrupted by another, angrier screech.

"Shut up, grab a sprayer and take formation before it eats us!" She yelled. 

The three scrambled to their planned positions, sprayers -- conveniently taken from a supply room -- filled with serum and in-hand. Amelia and Onyx took their places on the lower platform, beside and behind the plant, respectively, while Alexander remained on the one in front, staring the Mother head-on as he pumped up his sprayer. "ATTACK! Oh, and can one of you guys turn on some boss fight music?"

"No, we don't have any reception down here," Amelia replied.

Onyx was beside himself. "What kind of question is that!?" 

He simply shrugged. "Oh well. Anyway!"

He hoisted up the sprayer and squeezed the trigger, dousing one of the Mother's tendrils. It hissed in pain -- how was it feeling anything without a central nervous system, which plants certainly didn't have, right? -- and flinched. "It works!"

"Good to know!" Amelia replied. "But are you sure we have enough to kill this thing?"

"Nope, no idea!"

In a fit of rage, the Mother's massive tendrils swung suddenly and recklessly, determined to knock over anything in their path. Alexander ducked as one narrowly missed him, but Onyx wasn't as lucky, taking a hit strong enough to fling him into a nearby wall.

"Onyx!" Amelia stumbled forward to go to him, but a tendril thrashed itself between them.

"I'm fine," he called with a grimace, struggling to his feet and gripping his now sore ribcage, "but this stupid plant's going to pay for that..."

"You bet it is!" She grabbed her weapon and joined in on Alexander's unrelenting attack. The plant writhed, roaring with lungs it shouldn't have. Its attacks were unnervingly intelligent, too intelligent, and although it was apparent that it was a sentient being of some sort, no one expected the voice -- the chorus of voices -- that struck their ears like thunder.

"̸̱͈̞̪̉Ò̵̤̥̱̻̈Ṕ̴̰̙̂͝E̵̳̟͐͐̓ͅN̵̛͓ ̸̯̍̈Y̶͙̟͆̀̅͜͝Ȯ̸̡̪͋̀͠U̶̢̍̈́̀͝R̵͉̣͕̥͋̔̃͂ ̴̡̬̈́̇͝E̷͍̗̚Y̴̢̳̓͜Ę̶̠̟͂S̴̙̙͇̬̕.̶̛̠̲̬̂̈̀.̶̦̹̘̂͌.̶̆͑͜͝

̷̦͖͍͋ͅÕ̴͎̩͉͕P̸̰̊Ȅ̵̋͜N̸̘̝̭̳̓͆̽̚ ̸̧̙̲̽̆͌Y̷̡͕̿͜Ó̸̡̜Ŭ̷͚͎̞͖̄Ŕ̸̻̃͜ ̸͉͍͋̑̈́͠Ẻ̵̪̯͙͉̾͘Y̶͙̒̌̈́Ȇ̵̻̼̠̾̎Ș̷͋.̴̫͎̈́̃̈́̚.̸̠̔̓͆.̵̹̹͔̙͘

̷̂̓̿͘͜O̴͚͝P̵̡̤͍͎̆͌̆̕E̵̛͉͙͒̏Ǹ̴͉̭̐̀ ̶̧͉̪̝͌Y̸͔͒͂͘Ọ̶̦̜̦̒͆͐͝U̴͚̹̓R̶͎̈́̈́̕͝ ̸͎͈̈́̓́̈́E̴̲̻̿Y̷̪̽̍̉͝E̴̞̿͑͝S̵͚̫̞͔̀̎̑̈́.̷̤͇̅̾͘̕.̵͎̘̩̦͂͝.̸͓̖͍̄̇̃"̷̫̠̝̘͐̋̓

["OPEN YOUR EYES... 

OPEN YOUR EYES... 

OPEN YOUR EYES..."]

The floor beneath them quaked again, but this time, it didn't stop. Alexander dropped the sprayer, not even noticing as it plunged into the abyss below the platform. He was paralyzed. "W-Was that... did the plant just... s-speak? But that's impossible..."

"Alexander, I think this whole situation's technically impossible!" Amelia yelled, attempting to grab onto something to stabilize herself as the tremors grew stronger. 

Whatever she said, he didn't hear her. Not as the Mother's salivating jowls spread wide open, its slimy tongue slithering around his body, restraining his arms tightly at his sides.

"Um, Amelia, we have a problem!" Onyx exclaimed, pointing in his direction.

Her eyes followed his gesture to Alexander's predicament. "H-Hey, let him go!" She scrambled for her sprayer, but there was no time.

"OH SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII--!"

In an instant, he was dangling upside-down in the air, being mercilessly flung this way and that. He couldn't do anything but scream and swear and scream swears, giving up quickly on the idea of struggling. Was this really it? Was this how he was going to die? Covered in disgusting globs of alien-tentacle-plant drool and begging for mercy? Humiliating.

"We have to do something!" Amelia moved closer to the edge, blasting the plant even more intensely. "Give it all you've got, and fast!"

"On it!" Onyx circled around to the Mother's side, aiming the barrel of the sprayer at its tongue. 

A taste of that seemed to do the trick. It slammed Alexander back down, cracking the glass floor and eliciting a pained yelp from him as it released him from its grip. 

Amelia sighed in relief. "Alexander, are you okay!?"

"Yeah, yeah, just great!" He strained, pulling himself back to his feet only to face the Mother once again. It growled with a low rumble, tongue darting back out threateningly, like a snake about to strike. He panicked. No matter what they did, the Mother was only growing angrier -- and he'd lost his weapon to boot. 

"Move! It's gonna get you again!" Amelia warned.

"It's going to get all of us! We're going to have to retreat, there's no way we can beat this thing," Onyx said.

For the second time, Alexander was frozen in place, but not from fear. "...No. I'm not retreating."

Onyx gawked. "Are you out of your mind!?"

"No, I have a plan!"

"Like that's making me feel any better!"

Amelia dropped her weapon. "He's right, we can't do this by ourselves! Get down from there, before--"

Her plea came too late, interrupted by the Mother's enraged roar. It struck, jowls wide-open in preparation to devour him whole. He fumbled through his pocket, managing to retrieve the last bit of serum and pop the lid off  the jar in time to toss it into the plant's maw before it reached him. Then, his eyes squeezed shut as he braced himself for certain death.

It didn't come.

The Mother recoiled, thrashing and wailing uncontrollably. Green mist and sludge poured from every orifice as it rapidly withered, its agonized cries slowly fading into silence before it slumped and went still. Out of breath and hearts pounding, the trio exchanged glances of disbelief. Then, Alexander grinned from ear to ear despite his injuries and thorough coating of slime. "Critical hit!"

---

The first rays of sun were painting the sky when they emerged from the lab. As difficult as the battle against the Mother had been, it wasn't nearly as bad as listening to Alexander's dramatic retelling of it to the confused, and now un-possessed, remainder of the group.

"...so then, I single-handedly took down the Mother and won the epic battle of StrangerVille... and that's when you guys snapped out of your possession."

"Wow, sounds like I missed a lot," Aurora groaned, struggling to walk even with Alexander's support. 

"No, Alexander missed a lot," Amelia corrected with an eyeroll, shifting Orion's arm to a more comfortable position around her shoulders. "Like the whole part where Onyx and I were there..."

"I didn't say you weren't! I just said I was the one that actually took down the Mother!"

"Ugh, don't start arguing, my head's killing me," Skylar pleaded.

"I knew I shouldn't have come on this trip," Aurora mumbled. 

"Hey, don't be like that." Alexander grinned down at her. "Look at the bright side! We're heroes."

"Yeah, that's cool and all, but just so you know..."

"...I'm never letting you talk me into doing anything ever again..."

The rest of the group agreed with her sentiment, much to Alexander's dismay; and just like that, the world was back to normal.