★Memorable Author: [El_Roy_1999] The Procedure

[El_Roy_1999]

The bell rang again. I got up slowly. July laid a hand on my forearm.
"If they ask about me, tell them you haven't seen me in years."
"Do you know who this might be?"
She stayed silent and gave me a serious look.
"Fine. I'll do what I can."
The bell rang continuously now. I put on my underpants and pulled a robe over my naked body. I closed the door to the bedroom and walked over to the door. The bell was still ringing. I mumbled something along the lines of "I'm coming, I'm coming." and opened the door after securing it with a chain. Outside, there were too gentlemen in plain suits and a woman, wearing a nicely fitting pantsuit. She was wearing stylish glasses. All this seemed completely out of place. One of the men shoved an ID into my face and said:
"Good evening, Mister Ofaro. We're from the department of defense, my name's Handley, these are agents Ulrich and Mazzetti."
"It's past midnight. Go away."
Agent Handley smiled and said:
"I'm sorry, sir, but time is pressing. Do you have a moment?"
"No, I don't. I'm sick and I have no time for this. Come back tomorrow if you have to."
Suddenly, the woman shouted at me:
"Listen, you shit! You're going to let us in now or I swear to God, we're going to arrest you and fling your ass to some secret prison you've never heard of and this will be the end of it! Get it? We don't have time for this shit!"
I was taken aback by the sudden explosion. Honestly, I never had anything to do with the department of defense, but I wouldn't have expected them to, well, whatever...
"Okay. Fine. Come in. But make it short, I need to get back to bed." I turned around and saw the goo blobs still spread on the carpet. "Also, be careful not to slip. We get this when it gets colder, don't know where it comes from." Shit. They wouldn't buy that if I wrapped a bow around it.
"Coffee?"

[1hitomi]

And now the feds get involved. Wonder how she'll hide those eyes? 

[solitariodude]

Thanks for clarifying her name. Have to hand it to Ofaro for playing cool enough with the feds. I'd be more apt to say

[El_Roy_1999]

Agent Handley replied with a friendly nod and said:
"Yes please. Do you mind if we take a look around?"
The angry woman gave me a glare. I shook my head:
"I'm really sorry. Coffee's okay, but for everything else, I'd love you to return tomorrow."
Her glare turned into a surprisingly aggressive frown. Agent Handley smiled and said:
"That's too bad. We would love to keep it quick, if you know what I mean."
I shook my head again and said:
"Come to the kitchen please, if you must."

This is when I made my second mistake this morning. The first one had of course been to let them in, but now, I had something worse on my back. Apparently, I hadn't gone to the kitchen for a while. July had ravaged it in her hunger and had clearly decided to just spill everything all over the floor. The agents looked at the gaping fridge and the half torn packs of milk, the ripped-apart meat, the sad remains of the vegetables.
The woman said:
"This also happens when it gets colder?"
I wanted to say something, but Handley interrupted me and said:
"I'll be frank, Mr. Ofaro. We think that you may have been mixed up into something way beyond your imagination and I can only hope that you will be able to get through this without getting hurt."
I blinked. What was going on?
He quickly turned on the coffee machine and said:
"Listen: We know that you shelter someone and we ask you to help us apprehend this person. This is dangerous for you and for all those you hold dear."
The woman cut in:
"It's also dangerous for everybody else in this city, so..."
"What agent Ulrich is trying to say is that this is a matter of national security. Whoever it is, please tell us where..."
He was cut off by a crash next door. Within seconds, they ran out of the room and into the bedroom, drawing their handguns on the way. I stood there flabbergasted as the coffee machine began making delicious brew.

[solitariodude]

That's it, enjoy some java while the cops raid your place

[El_Roy_1999]

When I arrived in the bedroom, the agents had their guns ready and were inspecting the place. What held their attention was the huge hole in the wall that let in cold air in where the window had been. Also, the bed was missing, or rather spread all over the place in smithereens. The silent one stepped forward and looked out. Outside, it began snowing again. Agent Handley turned to me and asked:
"What happened here?"
The funny thing was, I just asked him the same question at exactly the same time, so we produced a chorus of confusion. As he was trying to figure out what he had just heard, agent Ulrich cut in and asked:
"Where's the transplant?"
She held the gun to my face.
"Where is it. Tell us now."
I asked:
"Where's what?"
"Don't fuck with me." She moved the gun a fraction to the side and fired. The thing spewed fire and smoke, punching a thumb-sized hole in the wall next to me. She gave me a crazy calm look and repeated the question:
"Where is it? Now."
I stood there speechless. My eyes were blinded by the sudden flash of light, my left ear was ringing and my underpants were wet. My jaw slacked.
"W-w-what?"
She pointed the gun to my head. Behind her, agent Handley and the silent one asked her to put it down. She ignored them.
"Listen, you asshole. You tell me where the transplant is, or I just shoot you in the head."
I really tried to hold my own, but I no longer could. I blurted out:
"She was there. She was there."
"Where is she now? Tell me, fucker!"

That's when I saw July drop down from the ceiling and sink her massive fist into Handley's face, her long, sinuous arm uncoiling with lightning speed, before turning around and grabbing agent Mazzetti and lobbing him against the wall.

[Metal Sphere]

Dude, Karma Karma Karma! This is getting awesome, and I can almost see this being another catalyst for more growth. There's probably some revelations to be had about the "danger to the whole city" bit.

[El_Roy_1999]

The suit slapped on the ground with a frustrated gasp. Agent Ulrich turned around, pointed her gun at July's  distorted frame and shouted:
"Stop!"
And she fired. She didn't even take the time to give a warning. However, this didn't concern her aggressor since July simply bent over backwards, evading the bullet with lightning speed. Instead of standing back up, she just twisted her head further between her legs so she could see her target and ran at her on her spindly fingers. The agent stayed surprisingly calm and tried to fire again, but the alien half-breed's legs just stretched, her toes rearranging themselves to form two opposable thumbs and she grabbed the agent's arms, crushing both of her forearms in the vice-like grip of her feet.
I could hear the appalling sound of her bones shattering and her scream of pain, but was glad not to see her expression. Agent Ulrich dropped her gun and suddenly collapsed.
July stood back up, shrinking to a size more similar to what she was like before and said:
"Sorry, Ed. They had it coming."
I blinked. There were three unconscious government agents and an alien crossbreed in my ruined bedroom. Snow was drifting in through a gaping hole in the wall. I replied weakly:
"So did I, apparently."
"Yes. Sorry. I'll make it up to you, but we have to leave now. There will be more."
"What's going on?"
"I guess the government doesn't want people to be happy."
"I think it's more like they don't want people to splice themselves with aliens."
"You believe in aliens?"
"I believe in what I see."
"Point granted. Still, we have to leave. They'll arrest you and make you talk whether you know something or not."
"But I don't..."
"They know how to make you talk. Let's leave. Take what you can. I know someone who might help us."
"Might?"
"Will... Probably."

[El_Roy_1999]

Minutes later, we climbed into my car. It had taken a few seconds to brush off the snow that had covered it, but now we were inside and the heating was doing its best to make it cozy in here. July shrunk down a little to fit on the seat. She had put on one of my T-shirts and some of my trousers. She looked odd, completing the look with an old coat of Wanda's and a fedora I kept in my wardrobe. As I drove off, she picked a pair of sunglasses from my sun visor and put them on. She looked like a cross of the invisible man and the lizard.
I asked:
"So, where do we go now?"
"Just drive us back to the place where you picked me up."
"Are you sure?"
"Absolutely. We should be able to pick up his trail there."
"Whose trail, by the way?"
"The doctor's. The guy who did the procedure."
I had to concentrate on the traffic for a second as the snow drifted by.
"Why him? I thought you wanted to go into hiding. We shouldn't be running around in the open with you looking like this."
"Of course, but I have to look after him."
"Why?"
"He did something wonderful to me. He made me what I wanted to be. Wouldn't you look after someone like this?"
"I would if he hadn't just dumped me on the street."
"I know. It probably was a bad idea. But you don't have to come with me, you know."
"I'm aware of it, yes. But I won't let you get in trouble more than you are already."
"Wow. You're sweet. Thank you."
She bent over and kissed me on the cheek. I could feel the strange electric tension under her skin and shuddered.

[El_Roy_1999]

We arrived at the street corner in the gray daze of dawn. I must admit I was pretty tired by now. We had taken as many detours as possible to lose anybody who might be shadowing us, but it wasn't strictly necessary. The streets were deserted, so any pursuers would be easily visible. Also, the snow reduced the vision so much that keeping a distance would mean losing us.
As soon as we got out, July sprinted over to the alley where I found her. Her strange, amphibian body's movements were sickeningly fluid, her gait bizarre and otherworldly. During the drive, her feet had recovered their 'normal' shape, but she still flowed more than ran. I had to shut my eyes to concentrate. As I followed her, I had to evade strange shadowy shapes my mind was making me feel. I was way too tired for this.
In the alley, she looked at me, pulled down the shades and gave me a nod. Before I could ask, she stretched her arms and pulled herself up to the first floor. Spreading her legs wide, she clambered to the windowsill and pressed her palms against the pane. I watched from below as she forced the window open, the squeal of bending metal filling the air. As the bolt gave in, she held herself to the windowframe with her once again hand-shaped feet and let herself slink down. She offered me a long-fingered hand. I took it and she pulled me up with a lightness I could never have dreamed of.

Once inside, I stood in a cold, dark room. I could feel July's presence next to me. I said:
"It's so dark in here. I can't see. And it smells pretty bad."
She must have turned to me since I heard her voice above me.
"I know. It did that before. Wait a second."
She left. I stood there, the cold wind blowing inside. The stench was overwhelming. I could hear her move. Then, there were a few clicks of a light-switch. No light, though. She returned to me and said:
"Let me try something else."
Suddenly, she began emitting a slight greenish glow from the lower part of her face. It didn't help much. She grinned and removed the coat and T-shirt, showing her muscular upper body that was now glowing too, filling the room with a ghostly green light. I stared at her in total confusion. The scars gleamed white on her skin. She added:
"Wait, this needs more."
"More what?"

[Metal Sphere]

Wow, July just continues to develop! Keep going, El_Roy! This is brilliant.

[solitariodude]

OMG! That was the fastest week I have ever lived I feel like I'm in the Twilight Zone...

[El_Roy_1999]

This is the dimension of imagination.

[El_Roy_1999]

July's chest expanded suddenly, giving off more and more light. Within a few moments, the room was filled with whitish-green light. As I saw where I was, I retched. The room was a slaughterhouse. There were clumps of flesh lying about, blood and ichor were everywhere. It looked like straight out of a splatter movie. There were some surgical implements, but they seemed crooked and soiled. This must have been a back-room clinic of some sort. One of those places you only ever heard of in the news. I looked at July's bizarre extraterrestrial body and asked:
"You went here?"
"Yes. Absolutely."
"This is horrible. You could have died."
"Sure." She bent down to me. "Best thing I ever did. Let's look around, shall we?"

Now to make it clear, I'm far from squeamish. I don't mind blood, shit, anything. I can watch the worst things without flinching. But this, this was something else. I managed to hold back my urge to throw up right here. Honestly, I think it would have improved the place. Still, I poked around a little and asked:
"What are we looking for?"
"Some clue on where he went."
"And then?"
"We destroy it, then follow it."
"Fine."

I checked the other rooms which were just as devastated when I suddenly felt a draft of cold air in my neck. There was something around. Somebody was watching...

[Metal Sphere]

Whoa, something's still in there? July's already looking pretty freaky, lord knows what this thing must look like.