Chapter 15

“What?” Freyja asked, breathlessly.

“I said this man was not related to you,” Odin repeated as he licked his paw. He looked every bit the large gray tomcat he had been before he had transformed into, what she could only describe as a ‘fleshbeast’ to eat the Old Man’s corpse. Where the body had gone she did not know. The matter couldn’t have been destroyed. She didn’t recall any memories from when she had read Odin’s mind that explained where new mass went once a member of the Hive ate something. Just that it made them stronger and faster.

The Old Man not being related to Freyja made sense.

She didn’t look much like her older brother. She couldn't forget the countless times the Old Man had accused her mother of cheating on him. Who would blame her? He was an awful hate-filled monster. And now, not only was he dead, his corpse had been disposed of entirely.

Oh shit, the body’s gone, she thought.

Odin chirped before tilting his head. “Of course it’s gone.”

Gunner glanced between the two, uneasily. “You can really read each others minds?”

They both turned to look at him.

“Yeah, sorry,” Freyja said.

“You need not apologize,” scoffed Odin.

“No, it’s okay, but I figured one of you had a plan for after you ate the Old Man, right? They’re gonna ask where the body went. I thought you only needed to eat a f-f-finger or something,” Gunner stammered.

“He’s right. They’re gonna wonder what happened to the body and realize we had something to do with it,” Freyja hissed.

Odin rolled his eyes. He did a big stretch, then just...kept stretching, eventually taking the form of the Old Man, complete with his countless botanical tattoos. He laid on his side, stark naked and emaciated. He grinned smuggly as he propped his scruffy head up on the table with one hand under his bearded chin.

“Great, this will work perfectly,” Freyja said as she shoved him onto his back with a thud, then grabbed the sheet that had covered the body to pull it over Odin.

“Hey!” Odin protested.

“Nope, lay down on your back and pretend to be dead.”

“What?” Odin asked.

Freyja pushed him hard in the chest again, just before the hospital worker who had let them in opened the door. She leaned across Odin and pretended to cry loudly, holding him in place.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt,” the man apologized.

“N-no, it’s okay, she’s just had it rough,” Gunner replied.

“I can give y’all a couple more minutes,” the man said.

“It’s snk, it’s okay,” Freyja said as she stood back up, wiping a tear from her eye. She was surprised she could use the shapeshifting powers to make herself cry. Weird but handy. “I, just can’t believe he’s really gone. I didn’t even get to say ‘goodbye.’”

What do you expect me to do other than ‘play dead?’ That body was cold when I ate it! I don't want to be cold! This form has no fur! Odin shouted over the Link.

Pretend to be dead until they put you in the cooler. Then, after there’s no one around, bust out and leave the building, Freyja ordered.

She gathered her bag from the floor, careful to zip it up before hoisting it over her shoulder. If they were lucky no one would notice the bag was now empty.

“Thank you so much, hck, for letting us see him one last time,” Freyja said through a sniffle.

“It’s no problem,” the employee said.

I do not like this, Odin said.

Well, too bad. You got to eat someone.

He wasn’t related to you. It’s not enough.

If we find another asshole like him you can eat them, gods, shut the fuck up, Odin.

The employee showed Gunner and Freyja out of the hospital into the night. He was careful to make sure no other people were nearby. Once the were in the parking lot he spoke to Gunner.

“Don’t worry. I disabled the cameras, so no one will know I let you two in, okay?”

“Thank you, Stephen,” Gunner said.

“Just, take care of yourself, okay?”

Do I need to remain still, now?

Yes. Wait till this guy puts you away. If you don’t, things will get complicated, Freyja replied.

Complicated how?

Would you like to get shot? Have to explain how the Old Man wasn’t really dead? Somehow explain that aliens are invading the Earth by taking over cats? Freyja fired back.

I see.

Gunner and Freyja parted ways with the employee, Stephen, and walked back to their cars. She as surprised when her brother gently grabbed her shoulder as she was about to walk to her sedan.

“You’re gonna have to drive,” he said, pale and visibly shaken.

She nodded. “You want me to drive you to the hotel?”

“I don’t know. I just...d-d-did any of that just happen?”

“Yeah, sorry to ask you to be part of it,” she said.

He sat on her car’s trunk. “He said...you’re not related to him...so-sorry I didn’t tell you.”

It also made sense that her brother was aware that she wasn’t related to the Old Man. He was a lot older than her and would’ve been more aware of what was going on when they were younger.

“I half figured it was the case, anyway. No need to say 'sorry,'” Freyja replied with a hug. “We’re still family, Gee.”

He gently hugged her arm and silently wept. “There’s...s-s-so much I need to come clean about. Things he did.”

“You don’t have to do that right now.”

“No, I n-need to. I thi-think he killed her.”

They are putting me in the cooler, Odin said across the Link.

Great. Chill out a bit.

“What do you mean?” Freyja asked her brother.

He cried a bit more loudly. “I...I think he killed Mom.”

Their mother had died in a car accident on the way home from work. Freyja didn’t know a lot of the details, but now she was even more glad the Old Man was not only dead but had been eaten by an alien possessed cat.

He deserved far worse.

“He’s dead now, and gone,” she said.

“But...that thing...he looked...so alive,” Gunner said between sobs.

She hugged him a little tighter, careful not to use her powers.

“That wasn’t him. That was the worm in the cat pretending to be him. A nesting doll of weird alien shit. He could probably look like anyone,” she explained.

“Snk, really?”

How long do I need to ‘chill out?’ Odin asked.

She released the hug and looked over toward the building.

“What is it?” Gunner asked.

“Odin’s impatient,” she said.

He wiped the tears from his face with the back of his shirt sleeve. “I thought you had a plan.”

“Besides ‘let the alien eat the Old Man?’ not really, no. Figured we’d slip the cat back in the bag and leave, but forgot to account for the missing body.”

“What do we do? How do we get him back out?” Gunner asked.

Freyja? Are you there? I can still feel the Link. Did you hear me? How long do I need to 'chill out?' Odin asked again.

“Are you okay to drive now, Gee?” She asked.

He nodded and wiped his nose with his shirt sleeve. “Yeah, I think so. You?”

“I’ll be fine. Head on to your hotel or get on the road and out of town, okay? I’ll call you with an update tomorrow.”

“What about the uh...alien?”

“He’ll be fine.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah.”

“What if he tries to eat someone else?” Gunner asked.

“I’ll kick his slimy little ass,” she replied with a grin.

Freyja? Why have you not responded?

I’m here, just sit tight a few more minutes, Odin.

She followed Gunner to his car, made sure he actually was fit to drive, and gave him one more hug through the window.

“Stay safe, Gee. I love you so much,” she said.

“I love you too, Freyja. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before,” he replied.

“It’s okay. Like I said. I figured anyway. Just, keep your family safe. I know, I know, I’m family too, but I’ll be alright. I've got the Armory and Odin. Get to that cabin asap.”

“You think they’re gonna attack soon?”

“I don’t know, but I think whatever info Odin had is no good, and also he’s impatient as hel. If the rest of his kind are anything like him, I don’t see them waiting long to jump.”

“Stay safe,” Gunner said.

“Will do, love you, now get going,” she replied.

Freyja, do I need to wait longer? It’s cold, Odin whined over the Link. She could feel his impatience growing.

Gunner’s car reached the exit to the hospital parking lot and merged onto the highway access road. She waited a minute before opening her front passenger side door which faced the building.

Okay, fine. Pop on out of there and sneak out. I’m still at the car. Just, try to be discreet, she thought back.

Thank gods, Odin cheered.

She was surprised she could hear the tearing metal from outside. Then screaming and a series of thuds, glass breaking, and more screams. She was able to follow him through the building in a loop by tracking the noise combined with the glee pouring off Odin through the Link. He evidently didn’t know where the exit was because he had been in the bag when she and Gunner smuggled him inside.

Shit, what the fuck is happening?

They saw me. Two humans. I tried to get away. One of them had an axe. I didn’t kill them, but they’re not happy. How do I bust out of here? This building is confusing.

“Fuck,” she said out loud.

See those glass windows in the hallway you’re in? The skylight ones at the upper part of the wall? Go through one of those and you’ll be on the roof. Follow the Link to me, she instructed.

There was more screaming, more crashing, then gunshots, which really surprised her, just before one of the skylights exploded outward as Odin burst from the building. He was a quickly moving tangle of creatures mixed together, some human parts here, feline chunks there, as well as the alien snakes, and tentacles. Just the sort of giant rolling creature one would expect to pour out of a horror movie. He barreled over and off the building roof into the air like he'd shot off a ramp. As he fell, he shrank back into the form of a cat, before hopping into the car. Just then, a terrified security guard and the medical technician ran out of the building.

Freyja put on a look of panic and shouted, “What the fuck was that? Did you see that thing?! Holy shit!”

“Where did it go? WHERE DID IT GO?!” The guard barked.

“I don’t know, I don’t know!” She shouted back, making a show of looking around in a panic. She shut her car door and pointed off into a wooded area behind the hospital. “That way. I think it went that way!”

“Get out of here,” the guard ordered. “Get the hell out of here! RUN! RUN DAMN IT!”

She didn’t argue. Freyja raced to the driver’s seat of her car, got in, and left as quickly as she could. Once she was on the highway she relaxed her shoulders. Her shapeshifting powers made acting a lot easier than she thought it would have normally been. She probably would have been in a real panic if she wasn't confident she could curb stomp the monster beside her if needed.

“That was fun,” Odin said after a few minutes on the road.

“You didn’t kill anyone?” She asked.

“I did not. I did play with them a little,” he replied.

She took in a deep breathe then let it out slowly. “I didn't think you'd take 'bust out' literally. That’s gonna make the news.”

“No one will believe them.”

“The cameras were only shut off while you ate the Old Man. There’ll be footage of that stunt you just pulled,” she replied.

Odin got to his feet in the seat. He narrowed his eyes and twitched his fluffy gray tail. “Turn around. We must destroy the evidence and silence the witnesses.”

“Hah, no way, little dude. The video’s probably on a remote back-up somewhere anyway. I’m good with mechanical shit and tech, but not with digital hacking. We’re going home. Maybe having video and first hand witnesses of you going on that little rampage will help people prepare for the Hive’s attack? You'd think folks wouldn't believe that shit, but you did a number on the building. That's physical evidence beyond the video.”

“I’ve failed once again,” Odin said hanging his head in defeat.

“Meh, life is nothing but a collection of failures that build into something greater,” she replied.

“Wise words,” he replied as he returned to loafing in the seat. “Where is that from?”

“Sugar Sky’s Sunshine Summer. I paraphrased it.”