Alien Mind Control From Planet P
Chapter 11
By Gary LM Martin
"We're losing," said Worth grimly.
"What makes you say that?" said Smitty. They were sitting in his lab. Smitty was the only one who Worth trusted enough to talk freely. In the past, he would have confided in Anna, or Tom Faraday, or even Sabrina... but they had all joined
Us
now.
"We have arrested all the members of the Expedition to Planet D except Anna," Smitty pointed out. "All except you, of course."
"Of course," said Worth, getting the irony. "General Crawford thinks the problem is contained. But we have a lot of new cases being reported all over the country. And in the places we don't have any reports of new Infections makes me wonder if the survey teams have been compromised."
"Do you think its spread out of control?"
"I want to hope not," said Worth. "Do you have any more information about the virus?"
"It's a virus," said Smitty. "It's very crafty. I haven't been able figure out much about it. It does too good of a job of hiding itself. The boys at the CDC are working on it. But I wouldn't expect anything real soon. It could take years to develop a cure, Worth, if we ever do."
The CDC...
"Did you ever get that sample of NR-1 I asked you to?"
"I tried," said Smitty. "They say there was such a demand for it that they ran out. They're waiting to be resupplied."
"Try harder, Smitty," said Worth.
"I will," he said.
"Meanwhile yesterday we intercepted an Infected driving a truck full of chemicals. I wondered if you could make sense of this manifest," said Worth, handing his datapad to Smitty.
Smitty studied the list for a moment. "This isn't ordinary run of the mill stuff, Worth."
"I know, but what is it?"
"You'd have to ask a chemist for sure... but I think it's bio-organics."
"Bio-organics?"
"The building blocks of life. The stuff they use to clone tissue, or organs." Smitty looked at Worth with horror in his face."What do you think they're up to?"
"I don't know," said Worth. "But I'm afraid we're going to find out."
His comm pinged. He took it out, and looked at it.
"What is it?" Smitty asked, seeing the disturbing on Worth's face.
"Another message from Anna."
"You have to stop listening to those, man," said Smitty. "She's working for the other side now."
"She's my wife," Worth said. "If she were your wife, wouldn't you do anything to hear the sound of her voice?"
Smitty bit his lip. "Maybe. But I wouldn't let her get inside my head."
"Would you like to watch with me?"
"You want me to watch a private message from your alien controlled wife?"
"Why not?" said Worth.
Smitty threw his hands into the air. "Why not indeed?"
Worth pressed the play button.
Immediately, he noticed that this video was different from the others. The angle of the camera was different. Previously, it showed Anna's entire body. Now it just showed her from the chest up. It seemed to Worth that her breasts had gotten larger, but it could have been a trick of the light or the angle of the camera. Her face had also gotten a bit puffy too. But she still looked as beautiful as ever, radiant, even glowing.
"Hello, Captain Rogers," said Anna. "I meant to send you another message sooner, but I've been so busy. But now I have cleared enough work off my plate that I can focus on the most important matter in the whole wide world: you, my beloved husband."
"I want you. I want you back.
We
're on different sides of an intramural competition but we are still husband and wife. I love you and miss you terribly. It pains me every day to get up in the morning and not find you in my bed. I put off dealing with this because I had so much to do. So many things to get done. But now I have a window, a small window of opportunity, while I watch for some seeds I planted mature. I have time for you now."
"I want to see you, Captain Rogers, very much so. I came back all the way here, to Kiawah Island, just to see you. There's a warehouse two blocks away from Kiawah Base near the gas station. You know what I'm talking about. I'll be there tonight, at 9 PM, but only if you come alone. If you bring one of your capture teams, I'll know, and you'll never see me again."
"I'm not asking you to switch sides. I'm not asking you to make some big, life-changing decisions. I just want to see you. To talk to you. It's been so long, Worth, you owe me. Husband."
"I love you, Captain Rogers," said Anna softly, as the image faded.
Worth had tears in his eyes.
Smitty looked at him. "You can't seriously be considering this, Worth, can you?"
"She's my wife, Smitty."
"It's a trap. She'll Infect you," said Smitty. "That's what this is all about. Can't you see that?"
"Yes! Of course I can!" said Worth. "But if there's a chance I can get her back, I have to try."
"Chance? What chance is there?"
"You don't know," said Worth. "I interviewed the other expedition members. Anna sacrificed herself, the entire crews of both ships, to make sure I got away safely."
"Wasn't she in the process of taking over your own ship when you ejected the passenger section?"
Worth said, "She fought them. I'm convinced of it. She fought them every step of the way. I don't think she could harm me."
"Then you're a fool, and by ten o'clock tonight you will be my enemy," said Smitty.
Worth paused. "Have you ever been in love, Smitty? Desperate, passionate love, so painful it hurt when you were apart from the one you loved?"
"No, and seeing you in this situation, I hope I never am," said Smitty.
"I think I can save her."
Smitty picked up his own comm unit.
"Put that down," said Worth. He had his hand on his blaster, but didn't draw it.
"Or what? You'll shoot me?" said Smitty. He stared at his friend questioningly.
Worth moved his hand away from his blaster. "You have to promise that you won't tell anyone. When I get back, you can have them grab me, and run every kind of test you can think of. At least I won't be able to Infect anyone else."
"If you come back." Smitty looked uncertainly at him.
Worth gave Smitty a pleading look. "Ultimately, it's my individual choice. That's what these creatures are trying to take away from us. If you prevent me from exercising it, we're no better than they are."
Smitty thought a long moment. Then he nodded. "All right," said Smitty. "I won't tell anyone, until you get back. I give you my promise."
********
Worth walked into the old warehouse at nine o'clock that night. He took slow, clunky steps. He was decked out in a spacesuit, complete with oxygen and a helmet. He had a blaster too, but suspected it would not help him. He didn't concretely know what he planned to do. Other than to see Anna.
He entered the warehouse, and found the lights were already on. Someone else was already here. He activated his external speaker on his spacesuit. "Anna? Anna?"
"Here," said a voice.
Worth turned, and Anna appeared from behind a stack of boxes. There was no way to know if anyone else was with her.
"Hello again, Captain Rogers."
The first thing that Worth noticed was that Anna was pregnant. Extremely so. His mouth dropped open.
"I can see that we both are a surprise to each other. You with your spacesuit, and me with..." she rubbed her belly meaningfully.
"What is it, Anna?" said Worth.
"You've never seen a pregnant woman, Worth? Did you skip that class in Med School?" Anna said. She took a step forward.
"What is inside of you?" Worth asked.
"Life," said Anna defiantly. "Purpose. Reason for being. A new pattern for mankind. I am to be the mother for an entirely new form of the human race." She kept walking forward, towards him.
"It sounds very important to you," said Worth, taking a step backwards.
"It is," said Anna. "What's the matter, Captain Rogers, are you afraid of a single unarmed pregnant woman... who also happens to be your wife?"
Worth stopped retreating. He let Anna walk up to him.
"Good," she smiled, as the hungering danced in her eyes. "You don't know how long I've waited for this," she said, when they were face to face.
"For what?"