The creature sat bolt upright as a commotion rang out at the entrance to the hall. Reed grabbed one of the discarded leashes and draped it around the neck of the beast. The guards had returned, and they were escorting a man with them. He was middle-aged, dirty and haggard, dressed in the threadbare clothes of a beggar. He looked confused, and when his eyes settled on the creature, Weslan saw fear. For its part, the creature stood upright, straining against Reed’s leash, and snarling ferociously.
A cold chill ran up Weslan’s spine. The man hadn’t been sprayed with the scent. The beast would kill him in a heartbeat if it got loose.
From her place in the booth, Rayker watched the creature’s behavior and gave a satisfied nod. “Good girl.”
The prisoner was squirming to get away, until one of the guards smacked him with a rifle butt. They dragged him to the chamber and threw him inside, closing the door behind him. Reed positioned himself once again by the chamber’s operation panel.
Weslan looked on, appalled, but helpless to do anything. “What is this—what are you trying to do?” he stammered.
The rest of the guards now carried rifles instead of their usual pistols, and they were clutching them nervously. Weslan felt like the situation was devolving into some kind of nightmare.
“Are you going to try and control that man’s mind, like you did with the creature?” he demanded.
Rayker gave him a look of derision. “Even I’m not that ambitious,” she said.
She stopped whatever she was doing and nodded to Reed, who hit the button.
The gas began to fill the tube as before, and Weslan tensed, unsure of what was going to happen. He cried out in shock when the man doubled-over and vomited blood. Spines erupted from the man’s flesh, and Weslan collapsed onto the floor.
As the horrifying transformation continued, Weslan felt a strong hand grab his shoulder, pulling him to his feet as he almost slipped in the puddle that had formed around his legs. Reed and the others were backing away from the machine, naked fear on their faces.
“Get ready to run,” said the guard who had grabbed him, and continued to pull him further away from the chamber.
Rayker alone moved in front of the tube, calm and curious as ever. When the gas faded, she opened the door and stood back as a newly formed monster, tall and covered in armor, stepped out. It gazed at her serenely, then reached out to touch her. She grasped its arm, running her hand up its enormous muscles, and caressing the razor-sharp blades that jutted out from the limb.
“Reed,” she said, “come and see.”
Reed cautiously approached the hulking thing. It didn’t react, except to look back and forth between them, like a child meeting strangers for the first time. Eventually Reed was standing right next to it, his face a mask of sweat as he poked its chitinous armor.
“Bloody hell,” breathed the soldier who had pulled him back. “I can’t believe that worked! You’re alright, kid,” he said, patting Weslan on the shoulder.
“Reed, have your men take this one into the field to get a sense of its capabilities,” Rayker instructed.
Reed nodded in agreement. “I’m sure it will be a great asset, but we will need to use it as a transportation mule for now. It should be able to move much faster through the mountains. We will rig some harnesses so that it can bring back more subjects from the farms.”
“Oh God,” gasped Weslan, as he absorbed what they said. He wanted to pass out. “What have I done?”
“You have done your duty, Weslan,” Rayker said happily as she turned to him. “With these drones under our control, we will be able to strike down those who oppose the League. We will inspire terror in the recalcitrant Calderan colonists. In their desperation, they will join us, as all must join us, if the future of humanity is to be preserved.”
Too many conflicting emotions ran through Weslan’s mind for him to make sense of them all, but the scientist in him was still forming conclusions. “You made the creatures! You’re responsible for the colonists’ deaths!”
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“Yes,” she said impatiently. “An obvious deduction. But what matters, Weslan, is that we are doing what must be done.”
“No!” he protested, terrified by his own defiance. He wanted to run, hide, to wake up from the nightmare. “No, it’s not right!” His voice shook, and his eyes were unable to meet Rayker’s.
“I understand you’re going through a bit of shock, but you’ll come around in time. Haven’t you been a loyal and brilliant part of this family? Aren’t you giving everything to make the world a better place?”
“I can’t… I can’t,” he stammered.
“But you already have.” Rayker approached Weslan and put a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll just need a little more from you. I need these… drones to organize and adapt; to fight as a team. You must solve this problem for us, Weslan. We need you.”
Weslan shook his head as old images of disemboweled colonists flashed through his mind. He had been told that they were faked. Now he knew the truth. How stupid they had all been.
“You will only have to work with the animal forms from the comfort of your lab,” Rayker said. “I assure you; I will not bring you here again.”
“I won’t,” he managed at last. His knees could barely support his body, and he was as much ashamed by his refusal as he was determined to resist.
Rayker sighed. She nodded to the guards, who quickly left the hall. “I assure you that you will, Weslan,” she said. “I will not tolerate failure or disobedience.”
The soldiers soon returned, escorting Julie and Stellan. They stopped short at the hall’s entrance, but the smaller animal, having already sensed their presence, was straining hard again, held back by the leash. The two young scientists stared in wide-eyed horror at the creatures inside.
“Now, Weslan,” Rayker continued, “it is time to make a decision. These researchers have finished their projects to a satisfactory extent, and I don’t need them anymore. Of course, they can always be useful, helping their colleagues by doing lab work and so on. We are an ambitious team, and we can always find room for eager workers. Otherwise, we will dispose of them. The choice is yours.”
“No, please!” Weslan wanted to beg, but the cold contempt on Raykers face made him realize the pointlessness of this act.
“Okay.” She crossed her arms. “Let’s grow up a bit, shall we young man? You have nothing—no power, no leverage in this situation. I am not asking for your opinion, because it is worthless to me. I am giving you two options. Please accept one of them and do not waste my time with more pathetic whining.”
Weslan wiped tears from his eyes. He could make things easy on himself; after all she had promised he wouldn’t have to witness any more human transformations. Julie and Stellan could be safely led away, and everything would be so easy. But his stomach churned, and bile rose in his throat. He would be giving in to evil. He would become the obedient functionary that made possible a crime against humanity. No matter how scared he was, he had no choice. His eyes darted desperately about the room, searching for any other way out.
They came to rest on the oxytocin canister he had placed on a bank of machines nearby, easily within his reach.
Weslan jerked forward, snatched the canister, and sprinted toward his friends. He made it a few yards before his arm was wrenched backwards hard, as if caught in a steel vice. His shoulder screamed in agony, and he slipped to the floor, hanging from whatever held him. Looking up, he saw Rayker stood over him, her hand clasped around his wrist, where an ugly bruise marked the skin.
She sneered at him. “Disobedience! Unacceptable!” She nodded to the guard, who shoved Stellan forward into the hall towards them.
“No! Please!” Weslan screamed. “I’ll do what you want, I promise!”
But Rayker was as unresponsive as a statue. Stellan staggered forward as the smaller creature shrieked and roared, straining at Reed’s leash. The monster that had once been a man turned and raised its arm, aiming directly at the frozen Stellan. The guards darted out of the way as a large bony spike punched through the fleshy part of the monster’s arm, and shot like a bullet across the hall, straight through the young man’s chest. Julie screamed and collapsed on the floor. Reed released his leash.
Weslan tried to look away, but Rayker grabbed his hair and forced his head upright. The creature ripped his friend’s guts out over the floor and began to feast. Weslan vomited. Julie, white as a sheet, curled up in a ball and wept.
Stellan hadn’t made a sound the entire time.
“Weslan!” Rayker hauled him upright and stuck her face close to his, so that he was again confronted with her sweet scent. Overriding his bodies’ disgusting emanations, it had a calming effect on him. He saw her eyes as they met his. She smirked, and there was genuine pleasure in her expression.
“Your punishment is over,” she said. “If you work, there will be nothing further. I promise you. If you do not, I will put Julie in the chamber, and she will serve me as a drone. Do you understand?”
Weslan nodded weakly. His will was spent. He couldn’t think, couldn’t protest, couldn’t reason. Nothing mattered anymore but to end the nightmare.
“Thank you. It is only a shame you had to force me to do this. Had you been more intelligent your friend would still be alive.” Rayker let him go gently and beckoned to one of the guards.
“Get him cleaned up, get him some food, then make sure he goes back to the lab,” Rayker commanded. “He is our greatest mind, so don’t be rough,” she added sternly.
Weslan was led away by the guard, tears streaming down his face. A sensation passed through him that was more horrifying than anything he’d felt throughout the ordeal. He was relieved. He would live, even at the cost of innocent lives. The overwhelming pleasure of this sensation appalled him even more than the sight of Stellan’s remains, scattered across the floor.