The concoction of stimulants hits Kate's central nervous system like a circus strongman smashing a carnival strength machine with a mallet, sending metal cylinder flying up to ring a round bell. Her central nervous system ding, ding, dings!
She suddenly feels like she can do anything; surely that includes finding a cure for Carlie in the time it will take her to get them pizza from the grubby canteen servicing the cottage area.
"Let's do this," she orders herself with the intensity of a cyborg gladiatrix.
She jerks opens the lid of an orange refrigeration unit labelled with both the biohazard and radiation symbol, releasing a blast of cold vapor into the air.
Using a pair of tongs, she carefully removes a vial with a pulsing green liquid that screams mad genius. She slides the glass tube into an injection device, and turns to Carl(Carlie's favorite frog) strapped to a board. It croaks and looks about nervously.
A dark shadow forms behind her, growing demonic bat wings. She doesn't see, stepping toward her next subject.
"OK, Carl, don't let me or Carlie down," she says. With a practiced hand, she slides the needle into its wet skin and injects the helpless amphibian with the green goo.
"Please work. We're running out of ..."
The shadow swirls excitedly. Kate feels a rush of cold air. Her eyes dart to the revolver hidden under a clipboard. She grabs the weapon and turns about, gun pointed. Her arm shakes.
"I'm not afraid to shoot!" she yells at no one. The shadow's gone. The various test creatures in their tanks blink at her; the cobra hisses.
Kate lowers the gun and puts it in her lab coat pocket, wanting to keep it close; she gives it a reassuring squeeze. Her jaw clenches as she turns her attention back to Carl. The injected frog develops glowing bands of blue.
"So far so good," Kate says.
She unstraps the frog and uses the tongs to place the creature into a tank with a mouse happily munching on some dried food pellets.
Kate presses the red button on her phone's recording app and tries to ignore the music blasting in from the party next door.
"Subject 88-2, Carl, is responding to DNA-splice injection alpha-9 by exhibiting ..."
She pauses, eyes widening behind her goggles as a bedroom door squeaks on its hinges, slowly opening. She sets down her phone and pulls out the gun, pointing at the doorway.
"I know you're there," she says.
Shadows seep up and out of the cracks in the floorboard, filling the doorway with a wavering black form that looks like a hooded grim reaper with giant black wings. Wisps of black smoke seem to drift off of it. It's face keeps morphing, sometimes looking like a skull, at others, like a long beak ready to pick her eyes out.
Her finger tightens on the trigger. "I told you, never come back here!"
The figure moves to the aquarium where Carl contemplates the mouse, which Carlie probably also gave a name to behind Kate's back. Curious, the rodent sniffs at the amphibian. The shadow strokes the glass with a black hand that almost looks solid.
"Get away from that!" Kate shouts.
The shadow holds up a silencing finger. "Wait for it."
Carl shudders, opens its mouth wide, revealing fangs and rows of sharp teeth. Its forked tongue lashes out like a whip, wraps tightly around the mouse, and before it can finish its squeak, yanks the critter into the a gaping maw.
Carl bites deeply; blood spurts against the glass container.
"Another triumph of science," the shadow cackles.
"Get out!" Kate shouts.
The figure presses its chest into the barrel of Kate's gun. Kate's crying, arm trembling. She lowers the weapon.
"You can't do it, can you?" the shadow asks, wiping a tear from her cheek.
"Why are you here?" Kate asks. "I can't fix you. I'm sorry for using you as my test subject. I told you it was dangerous. I didn't mean to turn you into this ... I'm just trying to save my sister."
"Silly Kate," the shadow titters, "you already fixed me. And you have found the cure for this ailing world, you're just too scared to share it. But I'm not."
A black tendril flies out from under the shadow's hood. The tentacle forms pincers that grab Kate's cheeks, squeezing them to force her mouth open.
She gags as the black coil, thick as a python, dives down her throat. She writhes and twirls in a spastic dance, smashing into the aquarium with the two headed frog. It ribbits in triumph and hops away. Kate grabs a set of curtains to try to keep herself upright, but she's too heavy, too dazed; she rips them down, curtain rod and all.
"Stop!" she tries to yell, but the word comes out mangled as she chokes on darkness.
"Oh, Kate," the shadow replies. "I'm just getting started."
The shadow jerks its hand, and the tendril choking Kate jerks her into the air and starts flying out of her. She shudders, like its bashing her insides as it exits. The last of its darkness recedes from her; she collapses onto the floor.
An eerie silence reigns. Kate stares at nothing, twitching next to the two-headed frog. The hooded figure gives off swirling shadows as it picks up the frog, puts it into a mason jar, and starts collecting the rest of the beasties in jars as well.
The shadow looks out the window toward the lake, landing on Troy on the dock.
"Have your fun," the shadow taunts him, "because now your nightmare begins."
***
Oblivious to the target that's just been put on his v-shaped back, Troy soaks in the early afternoon rays while sipping on a can of Etienne non-alcoholic spritzer and lounging the wobbly dock that's on the verge of being condemned. His boxer bathing suit pulls up his muscled thighs as he adjusts position to even out his tan as he diligently reads a book on advanced wrestling techniques.
Standing in water up to his hips, Jesse balances Mandy on his shoulders, play fighting Jason and Stacey, another cheerleader-jock couple. With much screaming and splashing, Mandy and Jesse take down their competitors.
Troy contemplates them from the corner of his eyes. He's here, in the social mix, yet per usual, feels and finds a way to be apart. A few feet away, nymph-like Tanya trails her foot in the water off the dock. She looks wistfully at Troy, then at the teens in the water.
"Troy, put down that stupid book," Mandy yells. "Tanya needs a partner ..."
Troy notes the look of surprise on Tanya's face that Mandy is including her when it's well-known Mandy's not her fan.
"... so I can kick her ass!" Mandy concludes.
Yup, that tracks, Troy thinks.
Tanya's eyes narrow, wanting blood.
"Yeah, come on Troy!" Jesse yells. Usually, that would be enough to get Troy to do anything, but lately, he's been wondering, When do I get to call some shots?
"No book's going to help you beat me for wrestling captain," Jesse adds, smiling that smile of his.
Troy's chest tightens more than he'd care to admit.
Tanya flicks her foot, splashing Troy with water.
"Hey! Don't get the pages wet!"
"Hey, don't get the pages wet," Tanya mocks him, reminding him of Mandy. "Are you seriously going to let Jesse smack-talk you?"
Troy eyes Jesse's muscular body dripping water. Tanya grabs the book and tosses it aside.
"Do you want to be Jesse's beta?" she asks.
She's on the mark, but Troy's paying attention – he misses too much when he doesn't. "Is this about me and Jesse, or you hoping to dethrone Mandy as head cheerleader?"
Tanya shrugs. "A little of column A, a little of column B."
What would Jesse do? Troy wonders. He stands and stretches his arms overhead -- a very Jesse move. Tanya takes in the view. Troy blushes, unsure whether this is such a good idea. Sure, Tanya's attracted to him now, but once she gets to know him, she'll probably think he's a weirdo and reject him a la Mandy.
And then there's something else that's been on Troy's mind more and more, something that's always been there but that's getting tougher to keep to the quiet corners of his mind.
Case in point; Troy's eyes wander over Jesse's muscled form, dripping with water. Before Troy can stop himself, the magnet that his Jesse has Troy in its irresistibly charged grip. Troy runs to the edge of the dock, dives off, and yells, "I'm in!"
As he's about to hit the water, Troy sees Gabi sneaking along the shoreline with Matt; Gabi's mocking voice teases Troy's brain, asking, What could go wrong?
The answer is ... a lot as you will see in the next several chapter! Make sure to star this chapter, add Queeroes to your reading list, and follow the author because the support really helps.
And here's a little teaser image for what's in store in Chapter 8: