"So, this thing used to be a leech?" Jessie Vitelli asked, feeling slightly ill.
In front of her, locked away in a glass terrarium, was a large, ribbon-like worm covered in green slime. The creature was contained with one of the normal worms - if you could call an alien, parasitic creature normal. Jessie kept looking from the generic parasite to the leech and back again. The leech was smaller than its cousin, but also seemed to be faster. Every few minutes, it would zip around the perimeter of the glass box at a startling pace.
"Yup!" Professor Pierce said cheerfully as she dragged a big whiteboard across the floor of the lab.
"What made it not a leech?"
"Well, you know, you start injecting weird fluids into things, they become giant and try to attack you. Shit happens," the Professor answered.
Was this woman for real? Wasn't she supposed to be the head of the biology department? Jessie couldn't see it.
"At least we know how to make more test subjects," Molly Dubois answered. "Though it is too bad you guys couldn't bring back the worm you were looking for."
"Yeah, sure, if you say so," Jessie answered.
The whole gang was reunited now, with all six of them gathered in the lab along with the Professor and her assistant, Molly. While Jessie still didn't know what to think of the two new additions, she had to admit it was nice being in a big group again. Even with two other people, she felt vulnerable roaming the campus.
Professor Pierce positioned her whiteboard in the corner of the room and turned to address the group. She was a pretty gal with long, black hair kept straight and a pale yet beautiful face. She wore a maroon turtleneck that hugged her body well, revealing a decent figure. A perfect target for one of the infected girls, Jessie thought.
Then again, all of them were perfect targets. They were young and pretty. Given this fact, Jessie did not like being in the same room with not one, but two worms. The potential for something to go wrong seemed far too high.
"Alright folks," Professor Pierce said. "We have two samples. With proper precautions, we might be able to make more. That's one half of this puzzle. We're missing the second piece. If we had one of the infected, assuming that this is what's happening, we could perform a biopsy. We don't have one, so I need you guys to help me."
All six girls went pale and stared at Professor Pierce in horror. She couldn't possibly mean to infect one of them and perform experiments, right? Was this bitch insane?
Professor Pierce squinted at the group, clearly puzzled at the reaction.
"What's the matter?" She asked.
Molly answered sheepishly.
"You're not going to infect one of them, are you?"
Professor Pierce burst out in a hearty laugh that went on for far too long and shook her head.
"Jesus Christ, of course not. I need your help figuring this out. God, relax guys!"
She really isn't taking this seriously, Jessie thought. She's going to be pulling those worms out and trying to slice them open and she has no clue what they're capable of.
"Look," the Professor continued. "All of you have had run-ins with women you claim are infected with this parasite. What we need to do now is gather information based on your experiments. What we're going to try and do is create a profile for an infected person. What are physiological changes? What are mental changes? Are there any tell-tale signs of infection? That sort of thing. Got it?"
The six of them nodded.
"So, who's first?"
For a few seconds, no one spoke. Jessie could feel her chest tightening as she knew she would have to be the first. Finally, she stuck her finger in the air and answered.
"When my roommate got infected, she trailed this slime all over our room. It smelled awful. Way too sweet. She also tried to kiss me, twice. I think the worms are spread through sexual contact."
Professor Pierce jotted down the notes on the whiteboard at a frantic pace. Her writing was chicken scratch, but apparently it made sense to her.
"Interesting. Very interesting. Now can males be infected, or just women?"
"Well, there was that one guy that attacked us," Haley said. "Then again, I don't know if he was turned or just mind controlled."
Professor Pierce raised an eyebrow at Haley.
"Mind controlled? I think you're mistaken."
"She's not," Melissa Takizawa muttered. "Trust me."
The room fell silent for a while. Melissa seemed to be nothing but a human storm cloud to Jessie. Granted, she hadn't met the girl until after her entire life had been fucked up before her eyes.
"Come on," Professor Pierce said. "Mind control is a thing in the movies. Are you sure he wasn't infected?"
"I can't be sure," Haley said. "But he didn't try to turn us. He just attacked us."
"Maybe he was drunk?" The Professor asked.
"Maybe, but I doubt it. He didn't smell like alcohol," Haley answered.
"I've got one," Eliza said. "The infected girls grow big knockers."
The room burst into giggles.
"What?" Eliza said. "It's true! Lindsay Maycomb could barely fill out a b-cup before she got infected. Now she's practically ripping her shirts open! I'm telling you, getting infected makes you bigger."
", now that you mention it, Leah seemed bigger too. Same with Megan and Emily. Their bodies were definitely changed."
Professor Pierce scribbled more notes.
"Bodily changes. Swelling of the breasts," She muttered.
"Also, can we revisit the mind control stuff?" Eliza asked. "There's definitely something to it. That chick Leah, she hypnotized me in class at one point. I looked into her eyes and felt so drowsy. Also, Lindsay Maycomb can make you ridiculously horny with just a touch. Like, so horny it hurts."
"Yeah, it's a fucking nightmare," Melissa said under her breath.
Professor Pierce pursed her lips. Clearly, such fanciful notions upset her big science brain. Jesus lady, Jessie thought, have an open mind. This shit is happening.
"Fine. I'll put cognitive influence down," the Professor said. "But I'm skeptical. What else is there?"
"Well, they seem to work in a group. They showed some teamwork when we were in Carter dormitory. It's kind of like a hive or a coven."
"Big if true," Professor Pierce said, scribbling the notes down.
At that moment, the door to the lab flew open and a slender, pale skinned girl walked in. She had a round, cherubic face with a small, sharp nose and piercing gray eyes. The girl took one look at the group and shifted uncomfortably.
"Oh, hi Professor Pierce, Hi Molly, Hi, um, everyone else. Is there a class in here? I'm scheduled to work on my Senior Project for this time slot."
Professor Pierce froze and looked at the girl like a deer in the headlights.
"No, Sarah. Your time slot is at five."
Pierce pulled her phone out and made a grimace.
"And it is five. God-fucking-damnit."
Sarah looked painfully uncomfortable. Clearly, this one was not good with conflict.
"I can reschedule if need be. It isn't a problem."
The dark circles under Sarah's eyes and the lines on her face showed that this was a problem.
"No, it's fine. I'm sorry, Sarah. Just give us five minutes?"
"Sure thing," Sarah answered. The girl glanced over at the whiteboard and began to read the elements aloud. "Swelling boobs? Hive mind? What's this?"
The girl giggled loudly, her voice resonant and melodic. It was surprising to hear coming from such a small waif of a girl.
"We're brainstorming a science fiction story!" Haley said quickly.
"Oh fun!" Sarah said. "But why do you have 'swelling boobs' on there?"
"It's an erotic story," Eliza said, turning beet red after the words left her mouth.
"Okay. That's, um, interesting. No shame. There is no kink shaming in this department!"
Sarah looked over to the terrarium and her face turned more serious.
"What are those?"
"They're Chinese!" Molly exclaimed.
"Chinese flatworms," Professor Pierce added quickly. "They are giant Chinese Flatworms."
"One of them isn't flat," Sarah said.
"That's because it's a mutant. It's a mutant, giant, Chinese flatworm," Professor Pierce said. "Listen, could you come back in five minutes? The lab is a mess and we've got to clean up. Sound good? Okay, bye!"
Professor Pierce practically pushed the poor girl out of the lab. Once she had the door closed, she locked it and turned back to the group.
"That was too close for comfort," she said. "Let's keep this on the down low. Sound good?"
The rest of the group nodded.
They locked the terrarium with the two worms in a closet and tossed the corpse of the third in a biohazardous waste bin. Haley took a picture of the whiteboard on her phone for safekeeping and the rest of the girls helped tidy up.
When they were finished, Professor Pierce opened the door and ushered Sarah in. Sarah smiled and waved goodbye to the group as she got to work, blissfully unaware of what was lurking close by in the locked closet.
"Who wants dinner?" Pierce asked.
In that moment, Jessie remembered that food was a thing. Her belly ached with intense hunger. It had been hours since she had anything to eat and now it was catching up to her. The rest of the girls looked the same.
"We'll talk more at the dining hall. Also, can one of you guys swipe me in?" The Professor asked.
I swear, Jessie thought, she's more of a college student than any of us.
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