Each week, I send out a story via my email newsletter. Each story is around 1000 words, sometimes less, sometimes more. The stories are in a variety of genres: supernatural, thriller, sci-fi, horror, and sometimes romance, and all of my stories typically feature a gay protagonist.
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This is story number 6 of the series. Enjoy!
The Hive
The shrill buzz of the alarm jolted Noah awake. He groaned and fumbled for his vibrating earpiece on the nightstand. “Hello?” he mumbled groggily.
“Babe, where are you? Did you forget our breakfast date?” The exasperated voice of his boyfriend Ross crackled through the tiny speaker.
Noah winced. “Shit, sorry! I was up late analyzing those samples. I’ll throw on some clothes and be there in 15.”
“You better,” Ross teased. “And don’t forget, the new exhibit opens today at the museum. My treat for lunch after your shift at the lab.”
Excitement bubbled up in Noah’s chest, temporarily displacing the exhaustion. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world. Love you.”
“Love you too, science boy. Now move that cute butt!” Ross ended the call with a chuckle.
Noah allowed himself a quick, cold shower to shock his system awake. He shivered as he pulled on his uniform, the silver fabric still cool against his damp skin. Grabbing his lab goggles, he dashed out the door of his pod.
The spotless white corridors of Hive One stretched out before him, pulsing with a faint bluish light. His footsteps echoed as he hurried past the thousands of other sleeping pods, each containing a dreaming citizen. Everyone worked shifts to maximize efficiency.
Bursting into the cafeteria, Noah spotted Ross waiting at their usual table, two mugs of steaming coffee in front of him. Noah slid into the chair opposite and gratefully accepted the mug pushed his way.
“My hero,” he said, inhaling the rich aroma. “Have I mentioned lately how much I adore you?”
Ross smirked, green eyes glinting mischievously. “You could stand to mention it more. I expect extra adoration for dragging your comatose carcass out of bed this morning.”
“Mm, I’ll make it up to you,” Noah purred, sliding his foot up Ross’s calf under the table. “Dinner at my place tonight?”
Ross pretended to consider it, stroking his chiseled jaw. “Acceptable. But you better not fall asleep on me again!”
They playfully bickered and flirted over toast and synthetic eggs. The minutes flew by too quickly.
“Gotta jet,” Noah said regretfully, glancing at the time. “Can’t be late or Dr. Zoric will have my head.”
“We still on for the museum at 1300 hours?” Ross stood, collecting their empty plates.
“Absolutely. Meet you at the entrance.” Noah pecked him on the cheek and dashed off toward the lab.
Already, his mind was whirring with thoughts of his research and the strange readings he’d picked up yesterday from the ice core samples. Could it really be…?
He buzzed with anticipation as he hurried into the pristine facility, giving a distracted wave to his lab partner Riva. She shot him a knowing look.
“Morning, sunshine. Wild night?”
Noah rolled his eyes. “Oh hush. I was here ’til 0200 analyzing the latest Antarctic drilling samples. Riva, I think I found something in the ice. Something alive.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “Define ‘alive.’ Last I checked, those cores dated back 200,000 years.”
Noah gnawed his lip. “I know how it sounds. But I swear, it matches no known microbes in our database. And the way it moved under the scope…I think it’s extraterrestrial.”
Riva let out a low whistle. “You know Dr. Z is going to need a lot more than a hunch to take this upstairs. He’ll want hard proof.”
“Then let’s get it.” Noah snapped on a pair of gloves, face set with determination. “Fire up the gene sequencer.”
The next few hours passed in a feverish blur of pipetting, centrifuging, and squinting at screens. By the time Noah’s lunch break rolled around, he and Riva had data to make even skeptical Dr. Zoric do a double take.
“I’ve got to get this to him right away,” Noah said, frantically scribbling notes. “This could change everything—“
“Noah.” Riva cut him off, pointing meaningfully at the time display. “Forget something? Or should I say someone?”
“Shit!” Noah smacked his forehead. “Ross. The museum. I’m late!” He shoved the notes at Riva.
“Fill in Dr. Z for me? I’ve really got to run. I owe you one!”
“Go!” she laughed, waving him off. “And tell that boy toy of yours I say hi!”
Noah flashed her a grin and dashed out, making a beeline for the museum on sub-level four. His pulse thudded in his ears as he skidded to a halt outside the entrance. No Ross. He checked the time again and cursed.
“Ross?” he called, jogging inside. “Babe? I’m here, I’m sorry!”
The exhibit halls yawned vast and empty. Noah felt unease prickle the back of his neck. Where was everyone? This place should be packed. He froze at a sudden faint buzz. Flickering fluorescent lights. A whiff of ozone.
And then the screaming started.
Noah whirled toward the sound, heart hammering against his ribs. There at the end of the corridor, silhouettes thrashed and flailed, backlit by a garish red glow.
“Ross!” Noah sprinted toward the commotion, blood roaring in his ears. He shoved through a knot of panicked people and stumbled to a halt, horrified by the sight before him.
Ross and a dozen others writhed on the floor, flesh bubbling and splitting as though something fought to burst out from within. Their eyes rolled back, jaws stretching wide in silent screams.
Noah dropped to his knees at Ross’s side, hands hovering uselessly. “No no no, stay with me, please…”
With a sickening rip, Ross’s chest cracked open. A skittering black mass exploded out in a spray of gore, scuttling up his neck and across his face. Noah recoiled as Ross’s body spasmed a final time and then went limp, clouded eyes staring at nothing.
All around, more bodies convulsed and birthed scuttling horrors. They poured out in a clicking, chittering flood, sweeping toward Noah. He scrambled backward, bile searing his throat. The creatures swarmed over him, feeling like oily fire against his skin.
And then, a soft voice in his head, like a whisper and a scream:
WE ARE ETERNAL. WE ARE LEGION. WE RECLAIM WHAT IS OURS.
With a rattling hiss, the swarm rolled over him and dispersed, skittering into vents and cracks. Noah lay paralyzed, Ross’s glassy eyes still boring into him. The floor felt hard and cold against his back.
Hard and cold…like the ice cores.
The ice cores.
Noah jackknifed upright with a gasp. Heart galloping, he stared wildly around the lab, half expecting chittering hordes to come boiling out of the walls.
“Whoa, easy there, killer!” Riva laid a steadying hand on his arm, frowning at him in concern. “You drifted off at your station. Must’ve been some dream, the way you were thrashing and mumbling.”
“I…what?” Noah shook his head, mind reeling as he tried to reconcile the two realities. The ice. The swarm. Ross.
“Just a crazy nightmare,” he managed weakly. “Riva, what’s the status on those Antarctic samples?”
She shrugged. “Still warming up post-cryo. I was about to run the first set, but we probably won’t have anything exciting for a few hours yet.”
Noah exhaled shakily, running a hand over his face. “Let’s…let’s hold off on those for now, yeah? I have a really bad feeling. I think we need to get a containment team down here ASAP.”
Riva’s eyebrows shot up. “That serious, huh? You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Anyway, you better pull yourself together quick, because I just got a ping from Ross. He’s on his way down to drag you to the museum exhibit, dream or no dream.”
Noah’s heart seized in his chest. “Ross? But he’s—” The words died on his tongue. He had never left the lab. It was just a nightmare…wasn’t it?
The lab doors whooshed open and Ross strode in, handsome face creased in a bemused smile. “There you are, stranger! Ready to see some ancient history?”
Noah couldn’t tear his eyes away from Ross’s chest, half expecting it to rupture open at any moment. He swallowed hard. “Actually, babe, I don’t think—“
“Nope, no excuses!” Ross cut him off cheerfully, grabbing his hand and tugging him up.
“You’re coming with me if I have to drag you. You need a break from this ice and a chance to warm up.” He winked.
Noah desperately wanted to believe it had all been just a morbid stress dream. But when Ross pulled him close, Noah thought he caught the faintest whiff of something acrid and alien. His skin crawled with a phantom itch.
“O-okay,” he heard himself say faintly, mustering a shaky smile. “Lead the way.”
As Ross interlaced their fingers and led him away, Noah shot one last pleading glance back at Riva. Her brow creased with concern, but all she could offer was an encouraging wave.
Noah faced forward, watching the strong line of Ross’s shoulders as he followed him into the unknown. Despite the lingering tendrils of dread coiled in his gut, Noah could almost convince himself he had imagined it all.
Almost.
But then, so faint he might have imagined it, Noah thought he heard the skittering of tiny feet in the vents overhead and a sibilant whisper in the back of his mind:
SOON.
As a chill skittered down his spine, Noah absently scratched at his forearm. He froze. There, stark against his pallid skin, was a crimson rash in a branching, crystalline pattern. A pattern he’d seen before, pulsing at the heart of the unearthed horror.
No. It couldn’t be.
Nausea ballooned in his stomach as Noah realized the truth – his nightmare wasn’t over. It was only just beginning.
THE END