Muscle and sinew was pulled and melded to the base of the thickening tendrils, melding them to the organism’s newfound flesh and mock ligaments to begin to split into spine-laden maws. It could act as hands where its loving host had grown too overwhelmed to use his own. These newfound limbs solidified and grasped the hatch of the ventilation shaft, ripping it open and forcing their broken body inside. Careful of its host’s beautiful brain, they pushed down the shaft and dug into the metal siding, never losing their grip as they finally slid to the surface of the first shaft.
A thin mesh of the organism coiled up into his skull, simply resting as a cold, soothing presence around their mind. How it pained the organism to make them suffer so. But the scent of fresh air soon attracted their attention, and it steered them towards the nearest vent. The grating was shoved aside and they were lowered onto soft soil, broken body finding rest in the pale earth.
It smelled of plant life and sounded of insects, crickets chirping and murmuring in the titanic ferns and dusted rock. And they decided this would be good enough as any a place to rest. The organism could feel that its conjunx was exhausted, that they had lost too much material to continue on, not unless his body was given time to be repaired.
One of the tendril’s maws began to creep across the soil, searching for life among the flora. It found such in a hill of ants. Spine teeth now lined its fleshy maw as the tendril split open, thin strands peeling from the depths as it was hollowed to form a throat, then mock tongues. And it began to burrow within the hill, swallowing the ants as a second tendril joined it, then a third found a separate hole and dragged a snake from its burrow to swallow it whole.
As the feeding frenzy began, the soft crunch of dirt beneath soft-soled shoes could be heard padding down the trail Hallewell’s slowly reforming body laid upon. A bundle of papers were held in one arm with a holographic prism balanced carefully atop it, a basket held in the crook of their elbow as a free hand was used to scroll through various readings.
Lost in thought as the stranger was, they almost didn’t see the doctor’s mangled form until they were almost stepping on him. Backpedaling in shock, hollow black eyes widened as they took in the sight of what bloodied thing now lay in the dirt before them. Unlike the disciple, the organism did not recognize this creature. And what a strange, small thing it was, clutching their papers close to their chest as the poor thing looked beyond shocked.
“Doctor Hallewell..?” they asked. Tentative. Fearful. They didn’t know what the squirming things protruding from the doctor’s back were, didn’t know if he was okay, if he was alive. A tendril slowly drew back from its searching, bone-laden flesh tilting curiously, as if it were looking at this small, horrified thing. A mumble was attempted from Hallewell’s mouth as he registered the presence of another person there with them.
The organism began to form eyes along the length of the tendrils, temporary things to utilize while their conjunx was beginning to come to his senses. Crude irises gazed upon a thin figure lacking the glassy eyes of the disciple, the standard lab coat of the host. How...fascinating.
It wanted a closer look.
Slurred protests were made from Hallewell’s mouth only to be hushed by the low whisper of the organism’s new maws. It would take care of them, though it would not stop his bones fusing back together enough to support his attempts at again being able to support his own weight. The witness whimpered with fear as the doctor’s bones set with a sickening crack, forcing more blood and thickened ink to gush from his open wounds.
Nails dug into the soil, finding purchase in the soft earth and forcing him upwards. His legs were still mangled and broken, unable to support his weight. This wouldn’t do. The organism gently encouraged its host to look up, focus on the little thing before them.
They were small. But they were enough.
“Naho…” the doctor croaked, voice raw and ruined from the strain of screaming. Did the host know this creature? He would have mentioned them more. If he had not mentioned them, then they were unimportant. Expendable. Consumable. “Naho, I’m sor-“
There was a gurgled sob. Cells began to copy and split and fuse, focusing in their conjunx’s mouth. He could not eat if he lacked the proper tools to do so. Ice flooded that beautiful mind, soothing the pain as his jaw hung open, body convulsing as teeth began to rip themselves from the back of his gums until they ran out of room and began to extend from behind the human teeth, bone supplementing the canines and extending into wicked points.
Blood gushed from torn capillaries and burst veins before viscous ink formed to close the wounds, crafting blackened flesh around the new teeth and fastening them to the gums. But with the insects they had consumed before, enough material remained to provide supplements. Mandibles began to form, pushing their way out of the speckled tissue while sheathes were formed from the tattered gums. The thin appendages slid against the outside of the teeth, parting the corners of his lips while the host’s tongue began to thicken and extend, splitting just as the tendrils had.
Black eyes watched in horror as this gruesome masterpiece unfolded before them, reshaping the perfect man into the creature they were meant to be. And as the tendrils pulled their weight upright, dragged the half-limp body to stand, a hunger grew within them. A hunger that focused on those fascinating eyes, dull and hollow and somehow so very much alive. They towered above this small creature, dangled just above their petrified form.
A single thumb traced the cheek, black-spotted nail pressing inwards until it found the place where skin met sclera.
The nail dug into the white, forcing its way beneath the eyelid.
Yes, they thought. This would do.
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