Inseminoid (14 page)

“Am I still breathing?”

“No, you’re dead.”

“Thanks for letting me know. Hey, are you into a little necrophilia?”

Karl shot her a cold glance that told her in no uncertain terms she was crossing over the fine demarcation into the area of bad taste. Too many had died already.

“Sorry,” Sandy got the hint. She put on her baby-face and pouted.

Karl laughed out loud. He couldn’t be hard when she melted him that way. “Baby!” He kissed her tenderly on the lips, “Please, I’ve got a lot of tests to get out of the way. You’re beautiful and a little bit crazy. Now get thee on to the scanner, goddamn it!”

Sandy slid out of the warm bed and climbed naked on to the glass table. “It’s cold!” she complained, stretching the length of it.

“It’ll only be a second,” Karl promised. He set the controls and pushed the appropriate sequence of buttons. He glanced down and saw that her nipples had become hard. “You
are
cold.”

“I told you!”

It was over very fast and Karl told her she could return to the bed. It took the scanner five minutes to complete a full analysis. While they waited for the results they continued to talk.

“Do you remember your behavior last night?” Karl asked.

Sandy became very serious. “Only bits and pieces. It’s all so dream-like, all very hazy. I remember cleaning the lab and saying to myself what a sloppy person you are.”

Karl laughed.

“And the creature became restless. I thought it was because he saw me as just another sausage to eat.”

“But he didn’t eat you.”

Sandy thought about that. “Hmm, apparently not. That’s strange, though. You’d have thought he would have tried to kill me, unless . . .” Sandy’s voice trailed off.

“Unless what?”

“I don’t know. Just got a flash—a mental picture—gone as quick as it came.”

Karl had moved to the edge of his chair. He studied Sandy sitting on the bed across from him. “Try to remember. It’s important.”

“I’m trying. Don’t push me!” Sandy snapped. Her eyes fixed on to his and her blazing glare was too much for him to handle. Karl looked away.

A deadly silence filled the room, interrupted only by the constant humming of the scanner. Karl stood up and moved to the machine to wait for the readout to come through. A moment later a green light began flashing and the report emerged from a slot in the side of the machine.

Sandy saw concern come over Karl’s face as he studied it. “Well, what does it say? Am I all right, or what?”

Karl glanced up at her then back to the report. “Better. It says you’re better.” He couldn’t conceal the worry in his voice.

“But?”

“But,” Karl found it hard to believe, “You’re now three months pregnant!”

Sandy’s fair complexion turned a deep shade of red and tears rose in her eyes. “Hell, Karl. What’s happening to me? Yesterday I’m two months and today I’m three. I don’t understand.”

Karl tried to put on his most reassuring professional face but it didn’t work. “The scanner must be wrong. That’s the only explanation. Look, we’ll try another test. Get back up there and . . .”

Sandy cut him off. “No! No more tests. No more scans. Just do the abortion. Right now. Right here!”

“I can’t. Your body couldn’t take it right now. It’s going through some sort of change.”

Sandy’s voice dropped. “What do you mean,
change?”

“I just don’t know.” Karl turned from her.

Sandy was losing control. “What does the fucking scanner say? Damn it! I demand to know!”

“It says,” Karl paused, “it says it’s unable to diagnose. That it’s not programmed for analysis of existing conditions.”

Sandy grabbed the sheets of paper out of his hands and brought them under the light of the reading lamp. Her fears were confirmed. Karl had read it correctly.

Just then that image flashed through her brain once again. She let out a chilling shriek. Karl rushed to her and put his arms around her. “What is it?”

“I saw it again. The same as before!”

“What did you see? Sandy, please tell me.”

She pushed him away. “Leave me alone.” Her speech had become calm and steady without any inflection at all.

But Karl wasn’t about to be put off so easily. He’d try another tack. “If you share it with me, we can work it out together.”

Sandy didn’t want to talk about it. “No, it was nothing. A bad dream I had once, that’s all. Now, I want to be alone. I’ll be all right.”

“I can’t leave you like this,” Karl argued.

“Just go, please.”

“Let me give you a pill to calm you down.”

“No!” she shouted at him. “I don’t want any more of your fucking drugs. I won’t take them, do you hear!”

The physician in Karl pushed on. “I just don’t like leaving you while you’re in this state.”

Then Sandy smiled serenely. “There’s nothing to worry about. I’m not even upset any more. See?”

Karl didn’t see at all. He didn’t like what was going on. Against his better judgement, he relented. He took the computer printout from where Sandy had dropped it on the floor. “I’m going to talk to Holly. If you need me, promise you’ll use the communicator.”

“I promise,” she said, sweet as she could be.

But as soon as Karl had left the infirmary, she walked to the mirror and cursed, “Bastard! The Bastard!”

Holly had the unenviable task of making out the death reports on her departed crew members. She did her best to keep it businesslike but she found it impossible to divorce the professional from the personal. It was getting late but she had nowhere to go anyway. At least the reports would keep her occupied. What a way to stay busy, she thought.

This was her turn for night-watch. To herself and only to herself, she admitted she’d be happy to see the end of the expedition. But Holly was certain she’d not let Mark in on her feelings. He was just the person to drive the knife in deep and turn it slowly. He’d like nothing better than to see her twist in the wind. Sure, the crew had its problems but this was a damn good team and it would make it through the rough patches. She would see that it did.

Karl interrupted her thoughts. “Got a few minutes?”

“Sure.” She was more than glad to have her mind taken off the morbid death reports.

“We’ve got more problems with Sandy.”

“Oh?” Holly looked up and raised her eyebrows. “Tell me.”

Karl related what had occurred in the infirmary and he showed the commander the scanner’s report.

Holly couldn’t believe it. “There must be some logical explanation. Maybe the scanner is malfunctioning. Or it’s sending the wrong signals to the computer printer.”

“I wish it were so.” He paused. “But it isn’t.”

Holly shifted her paperwork out of the way. She turned her full attention to the doctor. “What do you suggest we do?”

“First thing would be to give her an old-fashioned physical from top to bottom. Do it the way they did before the scanner was introduced.”

“Are you able to perform such a thing?”

“I haven’t since medical school but once you have it down you never lose it.”

“And then?”

“Then, I want to abort her pregnancy. I don’t know what she’s got growing inside her but I’d like to get rid of it as soon as possible.”

Holly didn’t quite understand. “You don’t think it’s a child?” She was surprised at his choice of words.

“What else could it be? A tumor?” The frustration was mounting in Karl. “There just isn’t any reasonable explanation why a woman becomes pregnant when she takes her contraceptive. That one day she’s two month’s pregnant while she’s three months gone the next.”

“Do what you must. Sandy’s a good person and a loyal crew member. We can’t afford to lose another.”

“Tomorrow then,” Karl decided. “Tomorrow, I’ll perform the abortion.”

It was dark in the infirmary but Sandy couldn’t sleep. It was still, deathly so. She knew something was happening to her body. She could feel it. But what? she asked herself.

She’d eaten a hearty dinner but she was hungry—so very hungry and getting more famished by the minute. It made no sense. She’d eaten the meal and consumed a second portion afterwards. Yet, the craving persisted.

Just then a different urgency came over her. She was becoming sexually aroused. The desire started at a low pitch and built so that it was reaching a crescendo. She needed a man so badly it hurt.

Sandy stuffed her pillow between her thighs and pressed her knees together as tightly as she could. She hoped the intense feelings would go away, but they didn’t. If anything, they became stronger. The desire for a man’s warmth far surpassed and overshadowed her hunger for food. Sandy turned on to her stomach and bit into the mattress. It had gone well beyond her control. At last, she couldn’t fight it any longer and gave in to the force.

It was late, Sandy thought. Everyone would be in bed. “Gary, I’ll go to Gary. He’ll help me. Gary’ll give me what I need.”

She was careful not to make any noise as she turned on the light and let herself out of the medical unit. She wore only a long hospital gown. Her bare feet on the cold floor made no sound. She checked both directions before entering the corridor. There was no one there. Sandy moved out, hugging the wall in the blind spot under the closed circuit camera. Whoever was doing nightwatch might see her on the monitor and she couldn’t have that. She considered smashing the cameras but decided that the noise would attract attention.

She moved slowly forward. Gary’s cabin wasn’t far and the closer she got to it the greater the demanding desire grew.

Suddenly she heard someone coming through a cross-corridor. Sandy stopped short and pressed herself flush against the wall. She prayed she wouldn’t be seen. The footsteps became louder. The person in the corridor hesitated. Sandy saw it was Karl and sucked in her breath. He was about to turn towards the infirmary but at the last second seemed to change his mind. He’d had enough of Sandy, of strange creatures and of death. Karl was tired and he was going to get some sleep.

His footsteps grew faint and when she was sure he wasn’t coming back she hurried to Gary’s cabin. She stopped at the door and checked the handle. It was unlocked. She smiled and let herself in.

The room was pitch black, except for the soft glow of the red light on the wall communicator. Sandy could tell by Gary’s heavy breathing that he was deeply asleep. That was good. She slipped her gown over her body and stepped out of it. Then she went to the edge of the bed and imagined the tall strong man only inches from her. God, how she needed him! She was so wet her female moisture was dripping down her thighs.

She shook with anticipation as she lay down next to him on the bed. Sandy brought her arms around his shoulders but although he stirred he didn’t wake. She pressed her burning body hard against him and this brought Gary out of his deep slumber.

“Hmm,” he groaned. “I thought you had night-watch duty. Taking a break?” Gary turned around and kissed the woman beside him. He expected it to be Holly.

Sandy met his lips, her tongue forcing his mouth open with desperate urgency.

“Hey, take it easy. I’m still half-asleep.”

“Fuck me, Gary,” she whispered.

“What?”

“Fuck me. I need you now!”

Gary sat up like a shot and reached for the light switch. “Sandy, what are you doing here? This isn’t our rotation and besides, you’re sick.”

“Screw the rotation. It’s dumb.”

Gary still protested. “We could get into trouble for this.”

“Not if you don’t tell and I sure won’t.” Sandy turned off the light with one hand and began stroking Gary’s flacid member with the other.

“No, Sandy, we can’t!” Even while he argued his manhood stiffened. It had a mind of its own. “Sandy, please don’t.” His protests were diminishing in conviction.

“Why don’t you just lie back and enjoy it. Let me do all the work,” she whispered seductively in his ear. It was an offer Gary couldn’t refuse.

Gary had been matched with Sandy once before on the sexual rotation but never had he seen her as she was that night. She kissed him, bit him, sucked him all over his body. Then she took him, nearly raped him and came back for even more. She sucked him in with muscles so tight he thought he’d scream with pleasure and pain. Even when he was spent, completely wasted, she demanded still more.

“No! There is no more,” he pleaded with her. “I couldn’t get it up again if my life depended on it.”

“It just might,” Sandy whispered devilishly.

Gary disengaged himself from her and got up for a drink. He threw on the light and he reached for the bottle, not bothering with a glass, ice or even water. He swigged it straight and the sweet burning of the whisky felt good against his throat.

He turned to offer the bottle to Sandy but what he saw caused him to drop it to the bed. He just stared at her, even while the pungent liquor drained into his sheets and mattress. Her skin had changed. Scaley aberrations had formed. Small open sores were visible, sores which reminded him of those suffered by Ricky before he lost his mind. And there was more. Sandy’s pubic hair had been shed during their vigorous lovemaking. Her curly blonde strands lay in lumps on the bed. Her body was coated in sweat as was his from the strenuous activity, but he knew the green droplets forming at her nipples were not sweat. What they were, he didn’t dare hazard a guess.

“What’s wrong?” Sandy asked.

“Uh, nothing’s wrong. I guess I’m just a little weak from the sex, is all. Look, Sandy, maybe it’s best if you leave now. I mean, Holly may be coming back soon and I’ve got to get the place cleaned up or she’ll know you were here.”

“I don’t care what she knows!” Sandy was becoming mean again. She stood up from the soaked bed and picked up her gown from the floor. “She’s a bitch and I just don’t care.”

“Yeah, but I do!”

“Okay, okay.” Sandy put her hospital coat over her shoulder and marched stark-naked out of the door, down the corridor and back to the infirmary. “They’re all bastards,” she said before turning out the light.

Gary was disturbed by what had just occurred, but even more by what he’d just seen. For sure, he’d never before experienced anything like that night. He wondered, a bit wistfully, if he ever might again. He locked the door and looked at his reflection in the mirror. He was a mess. His brown hair all twisted and knotted. He had bruises all over his body and deep red marks on his shoulder. Gary stepped closer to the mirror. He was amazed. “They look just like animal bites,” he said out loud. He ran his fingers lightly over them. The bare flesh was sensitive and he winced in pain. Gary knew what he had to do. Breaking the sexual rotation—well, that could be covered up. But. there was more to it than that. He made the decision to tell Karl about what had gone on.