As indicated in Part 1, all characters in this story are over 18 and purely fictional.
Chapter 1
Five days after those squid creatures abducted my Dad and older brothers, I was still on the island. No, I wasn't an idiot. After what I witnessed in that cave, I would have gotten the hell out of here if I could have. There was simply no way off this godforsaken island. My attempts to locate the boat that I had seen one of the squid creatures drive off on the day of the abduction had been in vain, and no other boats had come to the island. Cal and Jay had not returned. I had developed a disconcerting theory as to why, but I preferred not to think about it. I would have called out for help if I could have, but nothing worked: not the landline, not any of our cell phones, and not the internet. Someone had somehow cut off all communication from this island, and I had a pretty good idea as to who, though I was still scratching my head as to why. If the squid creatures knew that I was still on the island, why hadn't they come for me? And if they didn't know, why would they bother cutting off phone and internet service?
I worried the days and nights away until Day 5, the day before we were supposed to leave the island to return to the mainland. I had a hunch Day 5 would be critical. I remembered very well the lead squid creature telling Dad, Sean and Logan on that terrible day that their "services" would be required for the duration of their stay on the island, but that they would be released and free to go after that. I hadn't pinned much hope on that at the time. I figured it had probably been a lie to get them all to calm down. But with no way off the island, I had nothing to do but wait and see.
When I spotted three shirtless men walking along the path up to the beach house on the morning of that fifth day, I could hardly believe my eyes. I should have been incredibly relieved. But I somehow couldn't shake the anxiety that had built up over the last few days. Something told me this nightmare wasn't over yet, not by far.
As the men drew nearer, I could see that it was indeed Dad, Sean and Logan. A wave of trepidation washed over me. Could it be? Could those creatures have simply returned them to normal and let them go? I couldn't shake the doubts, and not a moment later, the doubts began to grow.
They were wearing the same sandals, sunglasses and bathing shorts they had been wearing on the day of their abduction, and I definitely felt more than a measure of relief when I saw that they looked human once again. My relief was tempered when I noticed that there was something odd about the way they were walking. They walked in a line, with Dad up front, and their movements were rigid, stiff, even a bit robotic. Stranger still, Dad was also walking with his legs oddly far apart, making him look a bit bow-legged. As they came even closer, I also noticed some physical changes. With Dad being a phys ed instructor, and Sean and logan having been competitive wrestlers, they had always been in very good shape, but they now looked totally ripped. Dad in particular looked good, really good, like underwear model good, his muscles even larger than they had been, and every one perfectly defined. He even had washboard abs, something he had never had before despite going on one health and exercise kick after another. Sean and Logan looked as muscular and defined as Dad, with one important exception: they didn't have washboard abs. Instead, their stomachs bulged out a little, as if they had put on a bit of weight in that area alone. That detail in particular made me more than a little nervous.
I told myself that their enhanced physiques could simply be benign side-effects of the process for returning them to human form, but some part of me couldn't shake the feeling that something was indeed very wrong. That's when I saw it. I had been so focused on Dad, Sean and Logan that I hadn't initially noticed the squid creature bringing up the rear of this strange parade. My anxiety returned full force.
When they reached the bottom of the steps up to the house, Dad, Sean and Logan turned to face the squid creature. They stood in line side by side, rigid, unmoving, like soldiers before a commanding officer. "Alright, slaves, you have your orders," the creature said. "Behave normally around everyone you know, friends, family, colleagues. No one must suspect. Insemination and spawning must only take place when you are absolutely certain that you are unobserved. Hide your eggs where no one will find them until you have enough to send. Next year at this time, you will return and bring as many suitable candidates for conversion with you as you can. If you fulfill your mission, we will have a special reward for you when you return. If you fail, well.... You do not want to disappoint us. Are we clear?"
"Yes, Master," Dad, Sean and Logan all intoned in near perfect unison. My heart sank. My fears had come true. This nightmare wasn't over, not by far. But they looked so... so... human, at least compared to the creatures I had watched them turn into just a few days ago. How were they going to keep... "producing" for their new masters? I had a terrible feeling I would soon find out.
Its orders given and clearly received, the squid creature turned and began to slither back down the path toward the beach, while Dad, Sean and Logan turned and climbed the stairs up to the front porch. They walked in a line with Dad in the lead, still moving stiffly, like soldiers on a march. I had been watching them from the dining room window, careful to stay out of sight. As they entered the house, I slid behind the drapes, which were themselves partially obscured by an assortment of potted palms. Over the longer run, hiding seemed pointless; I couldn't see any way of avoiding them altogether if I ever wanted to get off this horrible island. But what I had just heard more than creeped me out, and I was acting on instinct. Maybe those squid creatures had overlooked me after all, and maybe Dad, Sean and Logan's transformations had wiped their memories of my presence here. Maybe.... But I couldn't take that chance, at least not yet. The eerie silence that followed their entry into the house only seemed to confirm my doubts. I heard footsteps as they moved quietly from room to room. They seemed to have split up. A chill crawled up my spine. They were looking for me. Why else would they be stalking silently through the house?
One of them padded quietly through the dining room, but, to my relief, he didn't stop. After a few moments, the sounds of their perambulating ceased, and I heard some low voices coming from the hall. Unfortunately, they were too low for me to make out exactly what was being said. I heard someone say something about "being ready", another voice -- Dad's I think -- agreeing and saying something about "making it quick". Then, to my surprise, I heard the bathroom door close, and, a moment later, the shower start up. One of them was showering? Which one, and where were the others?
Chapter 2
I was wondering how long I should stay hidden, and what to do next, when I remembered the squid creature's words. "Behave normally around everyone you know," it had said. "Next year, at this time, you will return...." They had been ordered to behave normally and, from the sounds of it, were being released to leave the island. Behave normally.... That gave me an idea. It wasn't much, but it was the only idea I could come up with. If I behaved normally, pretended that I knew nothing, maybe, just maybe, they would take me with them when they left the island. After all, to return home without me would definitely contradict their instructions not to raise suspicions. I could then make my escape as soon as I reached the mainland. Under the circumstances, I simply couldn't think of a better plan.
I listened for a moment longer, but all I could hear was the distant murmur of the running shower. Who was in there, and where on earth were the other two? I quietly slipped out from behind the dining room curtains and wandered casually from room to room, ready to play my part, to look shocked and relieved at seeing them alive and well. But I found no one. I put my ear to the bathroom door but heard nothing. Were all three of them in there? I was pretty sure no one had left the house, so they had to be. Where else could they have gone? But why? The thought of the three of them together in there made me uneasy to say the least.
I remembered the bathroom window. Since the bathroom had no fan, we had generally kept the window ajar to let in some air. The shrubbery out there was pretty thick. I was pretty sure I could peer in through the window unobserved. But I hesitated. Did I really want to know what was going on in there? Yes, I finally decided. Yes, I did. I had to know, to know exactly what had been done to them, what I might be facing.
Walking around to the side of the house, I found the bathroom window part way open. Taking care to stay hidden among the greenery, I peered inside. What I saw initially puzzled me. Someone, Logan I realized, was standing in the middle of the bathroom with his back partly turned to the window. He was naked and striking poses, flexing his muscles, like they do in those muscle mags, and appeared to be admiring himself in the mirror, which was just out of my line of sight. From this distance I could clearly see that his muscles were definitely larger than they had been and much better defined. He kept passing his hands again and again over his biceps, his shoulders, his pecs, which could hardly have been less Logan-like. Logan had always been a pretty humble guy. I couldn't remember a single instance of him admiring himself in the mirror. Was he maybe just relieved to be human again? Somehow I didn't think so.
I caught the occasional glimpse of his expression as he twisted and turned. He looked fascinated by his muscles, his whole body, as if it was all somehow novel to him, as if he had never seen it before. And why was he naked? And where were Dad and Sean?