"Wake up kid" I heard something say to me. As I emerged from the Infested sack, I smelled some food in front of me. "Eat up kiddo" I heard it say. I wasn't completely in control of what I was doing. On top of that, I was hungry.
I grabbed the meat with my fangs before swallowing the pieces whole. Not knowing what they were organs of their prey. "Now just stay calm kiddo. You'll still have your share" it said to me.
"Share of what?" I sluggishly asked. I look up and see that it's nightfall. That's when I saw the other creatures laying around me. The Infested connecting their backs to the sack I was in.
"What's going on here?" I heard something say. That's when I saw a creature that looked completely normal with its green scales the color of the leaves. "What are you doing here? You're completely fine" I asked him.
"I was born into this nest. I lived here my entire life" He said to me.
He seemed so in touch with the world around him. He even had one of those spiders for a pet. Though he didn't seem too happy about being part of the nest. "Some of us with Infested running through our body can hide it in our bodies," he said as Infested appeared on his arms.
That's when something tinged and I felt some slight energy drain. "Apologies if you're uncomfortable, but some of those in my care cannot properly swallow" I heard her say.
"No, it's fine, if it's what I can do to return the favor I'm alright" I replied.
"Then eat up, this is the last of their meal anyhow" she replied, pulling out what looked like an intestine.
I wasn't going to question where she got it from. I swallowed it without worry, glad to pass some nutrients to them. "If you need me I'll be asleep in here," I said to her before crawling back in the Infested sack.
"Umm actually," I heard her say. I poke part of my head out to see what she needed to find that she had a young snake creature in her arms.
"How old is she?" I asked her.
"About 8 months, she's got enough strength to move on her own but she doesn't sleep well without someone of her kind near her," she replied. I pulled out my arms as she handed her to me. As I held her she calmed down in my arms. Her head was resting to where she could hear my heartbeat.
That's when I felt something off about the toddler. Her mind, her blood, her heartbeat, it all seemed human. "Is there something your not telling me about this child?" I asked her.
"Not that I'm aware of," she replied. That's when I heard a voice say "use the crystal" to me. I used some crystal on her back to see if anything's different. Sure enough, my feelings were right.
"Her parents seem to know how to make tools as if by instinct, but they keep looking for the metals in our world. The dragonaires are the only other species that makes tools any better," she said.
"You know what that means?" I asked her. She nodded no.
"This toddler and at least one of her parents are human. I would have never thought there'd be my kind living here already," I said to her.
"Your kind?" She asked me.
"Let me out of the Infested, I'll show you," I replied.
"Just transform in it," she said. I transformed into my human self. Then causing the toddler in my arms to do the same. She was in shock as if she's never even seen my kind. "Is that what I've seen represented in cave paintings before?" She asked.
"Cave paintings? You mean petroglyphs?" I replied. That's when the toddler started crying. I felt like she preferred me with scales so I transformed both of us back.
That suggested to me that people have been here since prehistoric times. The possibility that some dragons either died or had their hatchlings escape before being turned was all too certain. Which meant there was a variation of humanity living in what was often referred to as dimension X. But the possibility of pure human blood here seemed bleak.
"She calmed down finally. I'll be asleep if you need anything else," I said to her before crawling back in with her in my arms. Inside I felt needed oxygen getting pumped directly into my body. The spores, however, I felt like they had a slight influence on me. "Oh sweet boy, your mind is unlike most humans I've cared for. Let my spores grow your mind farther" something said to me.
That's when a headache set in and my thoughts were being diverted elsewhere. "Just focus on home," it said to me.
"Why home?," I asked. I then dozed off with the toddler still in my arms.
"Isn't that where the heart is for your kind?" It replied
Then it said: "Nathan, think of the potential of our kind to you. With millions, possibly billions of your kind with a physical or mental problem of some kind we'd be a great asset to you. The Infested can grow entire organs, circumventing rejection. Give one their sight back. Even strengthen their skin and bones, including yours."
"That sounds promising. You saved David so it shows you're kind," I said before trying to think of anything else to say.
"Oh, you don't need to worry about saying yes or no as the welcoming committee has just arrived. We've been looking for you since day 1," it replied.
That's when I awoke to find that the toddler is gone and I was in my human form with Xavier sleeping beside my bed. "We're home at last. Xavier, are you ok?" I said to him in confusion. I got no response until he transformed and flung a facehugger at me. "Xavier why!" I shouted at him.
"It's fine you'll live," he replied.
After it impregnated me I felt queasy and laid down on my bed again. The thought of regurgitating another larva stuck in my mind.
"One thing you're going to have to deal with is being impregnated," the hive queen said to me.
"No kidding Sherlock," I replied.
"Nathan there's something about that larva that you need to know," he said to me.
"And that would be what Xavier," I asked.
"You're tending to it till the larva molts. It'll have to stay here at your home" he replied.
"Nathan, you in there?" I heard my grandma ask.
"I'll be out in a few" I replied. That's when I stopped feeling queasy. I felt like I could move around finally. "Xavier I know nothing about caring for this sort of larvae. Why would they even have me tend to it? I'm not exactly an expert on the matter," I said to him.
That's when I heard a knock on the door. "Nathan, can I come in?" She asked me.
"Promise me you won't freak," I replied.
"Don't tell me it happened," she replied.
I answered with: "it did Just come in already," I said to her.
That's when she opened the door with an odd creature at her side. "Did you put it in the trench coat?" I asked.
"No, I woke up to it in the fridge," she replied.
"Looks familiar to me," Xavier said to me.
"I don't know I just need some food I've got a Xenomorpth embryo and a Symbiote to feed," I told them
I looked in the freezer for some salmon. Once I found some I opened the box and ate a few of them raw. "If you weren't a dragon shifter you would have been cooking that first," my grandma says to me.
"That easily satisfies my hunger Nathan, chock full of protein and yet a great taste," the Symbiote said to me.
"What time is it," I asked her.
"9:00 AM" she replied.
"I'll be laying then down if you need me. Its gotta come up eventually," I replied.
I laid down for almost 4 hours on my bed waiting for it to work its way up my throat. Not until I heard the hive queen's voice did I move. "I can feel it coming any minute now," she said to me. That's when I felt it working its way up my throat. When it came out of my mouth it immediately tried to hide under me.
I picked it up and held it to me, trying to send it warm thoughts to keep it from squirming. It somehow worked after a minute or so and then it crawled into my shirt. "I didn't think that would work," I said to her.
"A little quirk of being with a hive, you have that ability," she replied.
"Nathan is it out?" Xavier asked me.
"Yeah, it's hiding in my shirt. Do you want to hold it?" I replied. He came in and looked as if he knew it wanted to stay in my shirt.
"Let it hide, you're keeping it calm anyhow" he replied. I felt a bit tired for an unknown reason. So I took a nap before we had to leave for Engineering Camp.