New ongoing story - New Life

[El_Roy_1999]

After this episode, the evening collapsed. The boys took the remaining food with them and Angela left, insisting that Ava should call her if anything weird happened or if she needed help. She would be ready all night and could be here in no time.
Ava stayed with Milla, keeping her company and making sure she was safe. She was very careful and suggested they just spend the evening watching a show before going to bed early. Milla agreed. She was still exhausted and shocked from all this.
“I don’t know what to think … It feels as if there’s this thing under the surface. And it’s almost about to break through. And now it did.”
Ava held her hand and nodded vaguely. She didn’t know what to say. It was her responsibility, wasn’t it? Milla couldn’t have come into contact with whatever was living down there. She had to be the link. But how? Why was she unaffected? And what was that thing?
“I’m sorry I put you under so much pressure. Just drop the project and try to relax instead.”
“But I like doing it! It’s fun and … I don’t know why this happens. Maybe I should take it easier …”
“I wish I could help you, but there’s so much for me to do. I barely manage to keep my head over the water.”
Milla smiled weakly.
“I know the feeling. Let’s just hope that this Jaden can help you. And me.”
They sat next to each other in silence, then Ava sighed:
“Movie?”
“Movie. But only a little.”

[El_Roy_1999]

Milla fell asleep during the film. Whatever this was, it was taking its toll on her. Ava decided against carrying her to her bed. She was quite sure that she could manage it, after all, Milla was rather thin and she was getting rather strong now. Still, better keep her close. The last thing she wanted was her roommate to have another attack in the night and then ending up alone and helpless.
No one should have to go through this. Ava got up, went to Milla’s room and grabbed her blanket, tucked her in, then prepared for bed herself and slipped in next to her friend.
To no one’s surprise, it was rather uncomfortable. The bed was made for one person and her training had added a bit of bulk to her body. She hesitated. Should she just sleep on the floor, ready to help should anything go wrong?
In the end, she managed to find a comfortable position and drifted off into a strange, half-dreaming state. Ava was constantly listening into the darkness, trying to pick out any changes or weird noises. It was one of these nights were one would dream to be awake. She was vaguely aware that she would be exhausted in the morning, not something she could look forward to with her cramped schedule. Also, her head was spinning from all those thoughts about Milla’s predicament.
Then, in the dead of the night, she felt something touch her. She awoke slowly, only now understanding that Milla was lying next to her. She rolled around to check on her friend.

[QBikk]

You are building it thick. Well done!

[El_Roy_1999]

In the vague light of the city outside, Ava tried to distinguish her roommate’s features. Maybe it was the tiredness, maybe it was the dark, but Milla didn’t really look like herself. How was this possible? She squinted, wondering whether she should reach for her phone and maybe take a closer look. Milla moaned in her sleep. Was this all a dream? Why didn’t that voice sound familiar?
Ava was starting to feel afraid. Maybe something was deeply wrong with her friend … She rolled around to get her phone. She had to make sure everything was alright. It was all just imagination. She was certain of it. Groaning, she reached for the device. Just then, Milla rolled around, using the extra room Ava had just opened, and now faced the wall. She produced a few soft grunts before adjusting her blanket and drifting back to her dreams.
The young woman cursed under her breath. How should she do this now?
Maybe Milla wouldn’t really wake up. She’d be half-asleep and before she knew it, she could drift back off. And Ava would be reassured. She checked the phone. It was two thirty in the morning and she was fully awake. Shit. She’d never be able to go through her schedule tomorrow. That is, today.
Whispering to herself, she said:
“Okay, Milla. Let’s take a look. Hold still …”
She propped herself up on her forearms, slung her arm around her friend and pressed the button. The light flared and Ava stared at the figure next to her.

[El_Roy_1999]

You are building it thick. Well done!

Thank  you! I hope it works out.

[wildsurfer92]

I’m hooked

[El_Roy_1999]

The phone’s light was harsh and white. She could only see Milla in profile now, but what she saw made her want to scream in terror. There was something moving underneath Milla’s skin. Something strange, without true shape. Just a fluid mass, thick and bulging, lifting up her cheeks and her forehead as it seemed to dance over her skull. Ava was paralyzed. That thing … It seemed to notice the light now and immediately flattened itself. Milla’s skin looked normal again. The light went back out.
Had she really seen it?
Maybe this was just her imagination. Things like that didn’t really happen, did they?
Okay, she knew of parasites that could move under their victims’ skins. Worms, insects, all kind of ugly, terrifying creatures. The pictures and movies in class had been quite graphic and a lot of students had looked very sick after this. But here? With Milla? This couldn’t be true.
And if it was …
She was right next to her. Could she be infected?
Ava was about to panic. She took a few deep breaths and said to herself:
“Maybe you didn’t see anything. Maybe it was just a trick of the light. It’s in the middle of the night, you are tired, there can’t be anything. We live in a civilized country. People don’t have parasites. Not like that.”
She was shaking all over. She had to check. Turning the light back on, she ran her fingertips over the side of Milla’s face, constantly afraid of that thing erupting from her friend’s skin.

[El_Roy_1999]

Grumbling, her friend half-opened her eyes. Ava pulled her hand back and hesitated. Milla murmured:
“What’s going on? Let me sleep …”
She groaned and drifted off again. Ava switched the phone’s light off and waited in silence for a moment, before trying it again. She had to know. The afterimages of the light were still drifting around her.
At last, she put her finger on Milla’s cheek. Nothing.
Phew.
She took a deep breath and …
Right in that moment, something touched her back!
With a scream, Ava dropped out of the bed. She had suddenly jerked back, lost her balance and tumbled off the narrow mattress.
Milla was instantly awoke, sat up and flailed her arms around in confusion.
“What’s happening? What is going on? Where is …”
Ava groaned. She had hurt her head falling down and was now trying to shut down the pain by holding her head. In the darkness, she could hear Milla fumble for her phone. At last, the light flashed and she looked down at her host:
“Ava? What are you doing down there? Did you fall out of the bed?”
The other young woman got up, her head still hurting. She walked over to Milla and said:
“Okay, I just have to check. Please.”
“Check what?”
Ava put her hand on Milla’s face and tried to squeeze whatever had been moving under the skin. Milla protested:
“Let go! You’re hurting me!”
“Just one moment!”
Milla grabbed Ava’s arm and pulled it away.

[El_Roy_1999]

Instinctively, Ava held against her. She assumed that she could move Milla’s arm easily. After all, she was a strong, well-trained woman now, while Milla was still weak and tiny. However, this didn’t happen. Instead, Milla mercilessly drew her hand from her face. Without thinking, Ava tried to push forward.
That’s when she noticed it in the flickering light of the phone.
Somehow, Milla’s arm grew. It got thicker and more powerful, maybe even longer. It was hard to tell right now. Ava’s heart was pounding and the sudden rush of adrenaline made her head spin.
Milla’s grip just got tighter. This was bad.
Ava struggled and pleaded:
“Stop it, Milla. You’re hurting me!”
Her friend just stared at her, her face strangely immobile. Instead of releasing her, she just squeezed harder. Ava’s skin went pale.
“Aah! Please!”
In her panic, Ava slapped at Milla, but the woman’s other hand shot out, caught her arm and twisted it out of the way.
She produced a strange, incomprehensible growl and threw Ava to the ground. The young woman found herself on the floor for the second time that night. She managed to protect her head, but her arms were hurting so bad that she could hardly move.
“Ow …”
Milla stood above her, her eyes completely expressionless. Then, slowly, she calmed down and collapsed on the bed.
As Ava looked at her, she could see the previously expanded muscles fade back under her skin.
Above her, there was a gurgling noise.

[El_Roy_1999]

Milla’s phone went dark.
Ava spun around and looked for the origin of the sound. Nothing. Oh wait. No. There it was. In the glass jar, the white mass gargled and grumbled, its zits swelling. The tendrils shook a little and it hardened when Ava looked at it in the penumbra.
Then it relaxed.
The young woman breathed out. Her head was still hurting and she was both tired and confused. Milla was back to normal. Ava rubbed her forearms. The impressions of Milla’s fingers were still visible. The sudden burst of strength had shocked her. What was going on with her friend? This wasn’t normal. Not at all.
She got up and looked at the white blob in its jar. The zits were still swollen. She stared at it and hissed:
“I don’t know how, but you’re involved in this.”
The answer was just a plopping sound. Ava sighed and looked at Milla. The other girl was lying on the bed, spread-eagled and fast asleep. How did that happen? She had been awake moments ago, then she had fallen into that strange half-sleep and fought her. Should she try poking at it again?
Creeping closer, she extended a finger, her phone ready in the other hand. If that thing was afraid of the light, then she’d see what she could do to make it come out. Covering the display with her hand, she switched it on. The room was vaguely illuminated by the red-tinted light.
Gently, she laid a finger on Milla’s cheek. If that thing was still in there, it would react, wouldn’t it?

[El_Roy_1999]

She touched her friend’s skin. Milla didn’t stir. However, there was something moving under it. In the reddish light, Ava could see some bumps swell around her fingertip. Up until now, she had been willing to dismiss all of this as dreams or hallucinations, but this was real now. The bumps united into a ring and then, abruptly, shot out and tried to grab her finger. Ava pulled back and the ring sank back into the skin, a ripple running through Milla’s face.
Then, it spread, making some odd, vaguely inhuman muscles appear all over her neck and shoulders. It was thoroughly bizarre to watch as a completely alien anatomy seemed to form under her skin. Ava watched, transfixed by the strange show.
She held her breath. At last, it had ebbed away.
Ava breathed out slowly, trying not to provoke any further response. Now that her suspicion was confirmed, she wanted to get away. She had been sleeping close to Milla. What if whatever was in her had tried to get into her too? What if all of this had always been in Milla? Seriously, where did it come from?
She switched the light off, covered Milla in a blanket and went to sleep in her roommate’s bed. She couldn’t bear being close to her now. And she’d have to tell her. This was terrifying …
As she rolled around restlessly, she worried. Why did that thing resemble those strange beings from the underground? There had to be a reason! And what was that bizarre muscularity? It took her a good hour to finally fall asleep from exhaustion.

[El_Roy_1999]

When Ava awoke the next day, she was confused. Where was she? It took her a moment to remember what happened. When she did, she looked at the time, panicked and jumped up. She was late for everything! The young woman stumbled out of the room, ran to her own, looked for Milla and couldn’t find her. She scrambled for her phone. She called her roommate.
“Milla! Milla.”
It took a while for her to answer, then she heard her voice.
“Yes? What is it? I think I have a hangover. Also, I’m in class. I can’t really speak right now.”
“But … Yesterday …”
“What happened yesterday?”
“Don’t you remember?”
“I guess we must have done something stupid since I awoke in your bed and you in mine …”
“Nothing?”
“Not really. Just some vague stuff. Your mom was there, wasn’t she? And those muscleboys?”
“Yes … And the seizure?”
“No. A seizure?”
“While you were showing us the concept for the performance.”
“I can’t remember. Sorry. Listen, I have to go back inside. Let’s talk later on, okay?”
“Okay. Let’s do that.”
Milla had already hung up.
Ava stood there, confused. If whatever was inside Milla was changing her memories, if it could transform her body and control it … This was deeply disturbing. She had to talk to Professor Lang as soon as possible. Maybe she could help her.
Just then, she got a message from Jaden:
“I’ll be there this afternoon. See you soon.”
Okay. This day would also be packed.

[El_Roy_1999]

“Ava. Ava! Please. Calm down. Slow down. Please. Just tell me one thing after the other.”
Jaden did his best to understand the stream of information that had been unleashed on him. It was a bit much. The moment Ava had picked him up at the station, she had told him everything, without pauses or punctuation.
“Let me take notes, okay? This will make it easier for me and I’m sure I can understand all this once I got it on paper.”
Ava took a deep breath. She was so glad to see him again. He had changed a bit, having let his beard grow out a bit. He had this lumberjack feel about him, but it suited him.
“Okay, I’ll try. It’s just … I’m glad you’re here. I feel like I’m going crazy.”
“I can understand. Just wait until I tell you about my research.”
Her interest was piqued, but she had to tell him first. It took a little longer this time. Every sentence was now punctuated by “I think …”, “I’m not sure, but …” and “It could be that …”. Saying all this slowly and clearly just made her realize how crazy the whole thing sounded. Jaden wasn’t laughing or frowning. He believed her, that was obvious. Instead, he just jotted down everything she said on his notepad and waited until she was finished.
Once she was done, he reread it and scratched his head.
“Okay … This time, it makes more sense. I don’t know how that happened, but Milla got involved into this. And whatever it is, it is changing her.”
“I know. Do you think we should call the police or whoever is responsible for such a thing? What if it spreads?”

[El_Roy_1999]

Jaden hesitated. Then he said:
“If you could keep this a secret for now, it would be a better idea. I spent my free time over the last few months researching on the Mistland factory and from what I found out, I would be very careful.”
Ava was anxious to hear more:
“Spill it!”
“Okay, so listen to this: Mistland used to do special research projects during the Cold War. Most of the documents are still unavailable or just redacted so you basically look at a sheet of paper covered in black ink, but from what I read, they tried to develop anti-biological warfare technologies.” He shrugged: “I also found a scanned hand-written document on a page that collects conspiracy theories that Mistland was working with extraterrestrials and the Hollow-Earth Empire, but I think the first part is more reasonable.”
“The Hollow-Earth Empire?”
“It’s a pretty big thing among the conspiracy nuts. But it’s more old school.”
“Tell me later. So, what about Mistland?”
“If what I found is true, then Mistland closed shop very quickly. The management packed up and left, and the people who worked there just ended up being stranded. There was no more money and the company literally turned the power off without warning. Most people lived in company homes close to the factory.”
“That’s strange. They didn’t even take the paperwork with them?”
“Apparently not. And most of the people who worked there disappeared over the next few months. I’m not a big internet research guy, but there are other people looking for former Mistland employees.”
“More conspiracy nuts?”
Jaden shrugged.

[El_Roy_1999]

“So … What does that mean for us? What did we meet down there? And how do we help Milla?”
There was a pause. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, Jaden said:
“I’m not sure. I think the best idea would be to get a hold of those documents and try to figure out what happened down there.”
“So we should go back down there?”
It was obvious to her that Jaden wasn’t keen on this at all. Neither was she. He asked:
“Did your professor tell you anything new about the thing you found in the peach?”
“I guess so. She said that apparently, the blob can ‘interface’ with other organic structures. She tried it in the lab and the thing was able to integrate into other cells. Professor Lang suggested that we could try testing it on an animal as soon as the paperwork is ready.”
“So you think that the blob maybe connected to some animals down there? This is what we encountered?”
“I don’t know. But it sounds reasonable.”
“And now, it somehow got into Milla and it’s changing her …”
“If this is the case, we have to find a way to help her be rid of it. Although I still don’t understand how it got there.”
Jaden sighed:
“Let’s just hope the tests help. So, would you come with me on another exploration?”
“I guess I’ll have to, don’t you think. We can’t just leave things like that.”
The young man nodded. Ava tried a smile:
“But this time, we’ll be prepared.”