The page list
Characters:
Dr. Hill - Emergency Room Psychiatrist
Dr. Miles Bennell - Penis Snatch Victim
Becky Driscoll - Bennell's girlfriend
Dr. Dan Kauffman - a psychiatrist in the town
Scene: A dark and remote section of a farm belt town
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The night was dark with no moon showing. The stars twinkled above like tiny jewels in the sky. The sounds of the night sang clearly round about as all the night time creatures scurried around on their nightly chores.
Without warning, one of the stars in the sky began to move and grow larger. Its light began to cast long shadows across the land. A huge explosion rocks the land as large numbers of strange spores scatter to the four winds. Many acres of woodlands were seriously contaminated with the spores.
Nearby, two young men were camping out near a small stream when the sky lit up bright as day, a huge explosion, then silence as darkness returned to their remote campsite. The two men crawl from their sleeping bags and pup tents quickly to see what had happened. All they saw was the light in the sky rapidly fade away. They heard the sound of something similar to sand as it rained down all around them. Their skin began to itch. It felt like thousands of ants were crawling all over their bodies. They drop to their knees and scream as extremely sharp pains run through their heads. The last thoughts they had is This must be how it feels to be in hell.
~~ Emergency Room later in the week ~~
Dr. Hill was the Emergency Room Psychiatrist on call that evening. He was slightly annoyed that the police had contacted him at 2am to come to the hospital and interview a young hysterical woman. The officers had told him that the woman was demonstrating signs of severe mental delusions, but gave no other information.
Dr. Hill arrived and was immediately escorted to the isolation room. He could hear the screams and insistence of the young woman she wasn't a woman at all, but a male PHD from nearby. She was insisting her name was Dr. Miles Bennell ¦ a psychiatrist from a local small farming town several miles away named Charmington.
Dr. Hill raised one of his eyebrows in surprise. He knew of Dr. Bennell's work through a book he had written on Delusions of the Mind.
Hill smirks as he thinks, I suppose this would make a good irony for the good Dr. no doubt.
Dr. Hill has the orderly unlock the door. He enters the room and sees a very beautiful young woman of approximately 18 years of age with a short crew cut. She was wearing a very oversized gray suit, white shirt with tie, and was barefooted except for a pair of over sized socks.
The woman looks at Dr. Hill with wild fearful eyes as she exclaims, Thank Goodness ¦ someone I'm familiar with.
She rushes over with her hand extended and takes Dr. Hill's hand and shakes it vigorously.
She says, I'm glad to finally meet you in person, Dr. Hill. I know it sounds totally nuts, but I'm Dr. Bennell. Something terrible has happened to me ¦ and it's spreading rapidly! Something has to be done to stop the two men who are infected with ¦ whatever it is as soon as possible before it can't be contained.
Dr. Hill sits easily in one of the two chairs. He asks softly, Do you mind if I smoke? I usually puff on a pipe while I'm thinking.
The young woman grabs the back of her sagging pants and flops in the other chair as she says in exasperation, No, I don't mind. We need to get on with this ¦ it happens suddenly and right after those men touch you or shake hands.
Dr. Hill slowly packs his pipe, then lights it with his butane as he watches the young woman. He is thinking she must be suffering from some kind of drug induced psychotic hallucination. It's obvious she's extremely agitated ¦ and has signs of near hysteria to boot. Dr. Hill thinks the oversized suit was an interesting touch to this delusion, although, he wonders ...
Dr. Hill asks softly, Do you still have some form of ID on you? Or did the officers take it from you in the initial pat down search?
The girl sighs and settles down as she reaches into the breast pocket of the suit and pulls out a long black leather wallet. She opens it, removes a card, then tosses it over to him. Dr. Hill catches it and looks down. It's a State Driver's License with ¦ Dr. Miles Bennell, PHD's name and home address on it.
Dr. Hill then asks, Would you mind if ¦ the officers take your finger prints and ¦ run a comparison on them? I'm sure if you are who you say you are ¦ they will remain the same.
The Young woman nods. Dr. Hill stands, walks over to the door, and knocks. A pair of eyes appear at the slot.
Dr. Hill says, I need a finger print kit and an officer to take this young woman's finger prints if I may.
The eyes vanish from the slot as Dr. Hill returns to his chair and sits.
He says softly as he puffs his pipe, Now, we will see if the finger prints match. While we are waiting for that ¦ why don't you tell me your story.
He watches the very attractive young woman as she leans back in the chair, rolls her eyes, and sighs.
She says, Well ¦ it started earlier this week when two men arrived in a brown Blazer ¦
~~ Mystery Men Arrive ~~
In the cool of early morning as the sun was just peeking over the horizon, a brown SUV pulled into Charmington's only fuel station, Blighted Pushwater ¦ or BP as everyone knew it. The SUV was loaded with typical camping equipment and had mud splatters over the fenders and sides. Nothing abnormal in anyway. Two men got out of the the vehicle. One began to fuel, while the other seemed to wander around in a daze.
The proprietor of the station noticed the confusion the man was showing and came from the garage portion of the shop where he was working on a customer's vehicle.
He walks up to the young man and asks in a friendly voice, Can I be of some service in anyway?
A chill ran down the proprietors back as the other man turned and looked at him. His eyes were as black as any pit of hell. His face had absolutely no expression of any kind. A rash of some sort that looked like really bad acne appeared to cover his face, with some of the redness having broken out into open pussy sores.
The young man reached out fast, like a striking cobra, and grabbed him by his arm. The proprietor screams as he feels a rapid burning rush up his arm and all through his body. He falls first to his knees, then crumples to the ground.
The man gets into the SUV along with his partner and they drive off, leaving the proprietor wallowing on the ground in pain.
Another car had been passing and the driver had witnessed what had transpired. He quickly pulls into the station and exits the car, kneels beside the proprietor, and turns him on his back.
The man says softly, Relax, young lady, My name's Dr. Miles Bennell. What happened? What did they do to you?
The proprietor opens his eyes and begins to relax as the pain rapidly subsided. He says in a very cute female voice, I ¦ I'm ¦ I'm not a woman. Isn't that obvious? My name's Tony Stroight ¦ I own this place.
Miles looks the young woman over. She is extremely pretty. She appears to be about 18 years old and has a very short haircut with a part on the right side. Her jeans and shirt were many sizes too big for her as were her shoes. Miles also noticed the ring on her finger was for a person many times larger than she as well.
Miles smiles as he replies softly, Ok ¦ ummm ¦ Tony. Lie here for a bit while I call an ambulance. I want to make sure you're not hurt in anyway.
The woman smiles weakly as Miles tucks his jacket under her head and lays her gently on it. He rushes back to his car and retrieves his cell phone and dials 911. Fortunately, there was signal and it connected.
It wasn't long before the ambulance arrived and the techs began triage on Tony. Miles noticed the whole time, the young woman had become more and more agitated and insistent that her gender was male and not female. It got to the point, she had become hysterical and the techs had to sedate her to keep her from hurting herself or one of them. As the ambulance pulled away, Miles sat in his car and called a colleague of his, Dr. Dan Kauffman. He was the local psychiatrist for this particular town.
The phone rang twice, the familiar voice of Kauffman answers, Hello ¦ this is Dr. Kauffman. How can I help you?
Miles said, Hi, Dan, this is Miles. I have something rather interesting to talk to you about.
Dan replies, Oh? What might it be this time? A delusional mind that thinks it's a chicken or something?
Both men laugh.
Miles replies, No, I think this might be a bit more interesting than that.
How so? asked Dan.
Miles thinks for a bit then replies, Well, I saw a man seemingly knock a person down today at the local BP. When I got to the individual, it was a young woman approximately 18 to maybe 21 years of age.
Dan says, That doesn't sound so abnormal to me.
Miles snorts a laugh, No ¦ but the woman insisted she was male and her name was Tony Stroight. Her clothes were way too big for her as well as her shoes and rings and things.
Dan replies, I know Tony ¦ he owns the fuel station. Is ¦. the woman alright?
Miles says, She appears to be physically OK ¦ but she became rather agitated and violent when the ambulance techs had arrived to check her out. She became hysterical and forcefully insisted she was a man. I had her sent to the Hospital for observation. You think you could look in on her and see what's up? It sounds like it would be an interesting case. I have to check in on Becky Driscoll before I can go to the hospital.
Dan laughs, So you and Becky are becoming an item, are you? I would be happy to check in on this woman. It would be interesting to hear what she has to say.
Miles smiles to himself as he said, Thanks. I'll check in there as soon as I can. Bye for now. Then he closes his phone with a soft click.
Miles sat for a few minutes before he entered the store, gathered up the keys to the place and locked it down for safe keeping. He would bring the keys with him to the hospital later. He then got into his car and drove off to see his new girlfriend, Becky.
Becky was waiting for Miles on the front porch when he arrived. She was wearing tight form fitting jeans and a peasant top that showed off her wonderful figure quite well. The gentle morning breeze blew her long brunette hair around her face as she waved at him.
Miles hurries from the car to the porch and snuggles into a warm passionate kiss. When the both of them had to stop for air, Miles says softly, It's nice to see you again Becky.
Becky giggles as she takes him by the hand and leads him inside, I made breakfast for us ¦ I hope you like it.
The living room and dining room were a beautiful display of mahogany and teak woods. A large deep pillowed sofa sat across from a very large eighty inch flat screen TV. Dark beige, deep piled carpet ran all through the living room. The fireplace sat with a large pile of wood in the keeper waiting for some cool and romantic night.
Miles could smell the wonderful smells coming from the kitchen as they entered the dining area. The large round mahogany table was set for two with her best china and silverware. There were large bowls of mixed fruits, a large carafe of freshly brewed coffee, two large china plates filled with what looked and smelled like Philly Cheese Omelets, grits, butter, and large helpings of hash browns cooked to golden perfection. Miles smiles to himself as he also sees the bottles of catchup and mustard just in case some were needed to go with a country mix of all the rest.
Becky pulls one of the chairs out and says authoritatively, Sit.
Miles's eyebrows rise in surprise as he obediently sits. Becky pours him a large steaming cup of coffee before pouring hers and sitting in the chair next to him.
She beams a wonderful smile as she says happily, Dig in sweetie. Only way ya'll go hungry roun these parts is cuz yur arm's broke n no one has nuff mercy ta feeds ya.
Miles and Becky look at each other for a second before the both of them burst into laughter.
Miles replies, Why, yesum ¦ shore nuff. then began to eat.
The Omelet was absolutely great, the coffee perked properly just the way he liked it, and the fruit had to have been picked just this morning from the orchard behind the house. Miles was impressed. Becky had gone to a lot of trouble to make breakfast ¦ it was truly wonderful. The two of them said little as they used their mouths for more useful purposes. That didn't stop them from making cute lovey faces at each other.
Just as they were about finished with breakfast, Miles phone rings. He allows it to ring. After several times of it ringing over and over within several seconds of each other, he answers it.
The excited voice of Dan says rather loudly, Miles! You have to come to the hospital ¦ you won't believe what has really happened at the BP this morning!
Miles gets a surprised expression on his face that Becky notices. She can hear Dan's loud excited voice coming from Miles's phone, but not exactly what it was he said.
What is it sweet heart? she asks.
Miles holds up one finger as he asks, Dan? What ¦ what happened? Tell me.
Dan replies, You won't believe it ¦ it's true ¦ Tony ... obviously Dan had turned his head away from the phone, then continued loudly, Just who in the hell are you and what ¦ OMG!! Your face! STOP!
Miles heard the phone hit the floor and Dan groaning in agony. Miles stood and closed his phone.
He said anxiously to Becky, Grab your purse, we have to go to the hospital. Something has happened to Dan.
Becky stood and quickly rushed off into another room, only to return shortly with her purse slung across her shoulder.
Becky asked, Your car or mine?
Miles said, Mine's behind yours .. so we'll take mine.
The two of them get into the car, and drive off in a cloud of blue smoke and squealing tires.
~~ Reality Stranger than Fiction ~~
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All characters from this point on played by: LilJennie and Miki Yamuri
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Miles and Becky arrive at the hospital and come to a screeching stop at the emergency room. They see many young women wandering around in a daze wearing over sized male clothing.
Becky leans over and whispers nervously to Miles, "Sweetie? What's going on? I ... don't know about what I'm seeing."
Miles shrugs his shoulders and gets out of the car with Becky following.
Miles says, "I'm not sure Becky. This looks like what happened at the BP this morning .... only on a larger scale."
The two of them hurry into the emergency room entrance. They see many nurses running around in confusion and hear a lot of screams and crying.
Becky stops one of the nurses and asks, "What's going on? What happened?"
The nurse says with exasperation as she points, Isn't it obvious?
Becky turns her head and sees many young women in way oversized doctors clothing. Many nurses are trying with little success to usher them into rooms.
"I think," said Miles, "that whatever this is must be somehow contagious."
"But doesn't that mean that we should keep everybody apart?" asked Becky. "So nobody else can catch it?"
"Maybe," Miles said quietly to her, "but we don't know enough. It might not even help, and meanwhile we have to spread the word about what's going on ... even though we don't know much."
"Excuse me," said a nurse to Becky and Miles, "but if you're not critically injured or seriously ill you should get out of the way so we can help those who are." She tried to hustle them out of the emergency area.
Miles didn't know what to do. If they were pushed out of there, there wouldn't be anything they could do to help the other victims. Becky put her hands on her hips and took a firm stance.
She said with anger, "We are here looking for Dr. Dan Kauffman. He called us to come here and check out a young woman who was claiming to be Tony Stroight. This is Dr. Miles Bennell and I'm Becky Driscoll, from Research and Development."
The nurse's mouth falls open as an expression of surprised recognition crosses her face. She says excitedly, "Yes, yes ... of course. We've been expecting you both. Dr. Kauffman is ... this way ..."
Miles asks, "What's wrong?"
The nurse replies softly as she leads them down the crowded corridor, "He ... isn't himself any longer. I don't believe he ever will be either."
She leads them to a room labeled isolation room 3. When she opens the door, Miles and Becky see two very beautiful young women about 18 years old, wrapped in sheets, sitting on examination tables.
One of them looks up and says excitedly, "Miles! You ... won't believe what is happening. We have to warn everyone quickly before it spreads out of control!"
"Dan!" said Miles, having a hard time believing that this young woman had until recently been Dr. Dan Kauffman. But despite the physical change, perhaps he was still Dan inside. "You're right, of course," he said. "But it's hard to spread knowledge without any knowledge to spread. What do you know about it? How does it spread? Is it by contact? Is it airborne? What's the incubation time?"
Dan took a deep breath and closed her ... his ... eyes. "It's difficult to say," said the young woman's voice. "I didn't touch Tony while talking to him, but it could be that this is the result of inhaling infectious particles at the same time, or minutes beforehand. I think I can rule out widespread airborne transmission -- in order for it to have infected me that way, its incubation period would have to be longer, and if the incubation period were that long, you'd be affected now too. And you're not."
"Thank Heaven for small favors," said Miles. "So we're not dealing with some kind of spreading cloud of pathogen that's covering the tri-county area, like some kind of biological weapon. But what ARE we dealing with? You said you came in contact with Tony Stroight, right?"
"Yes," said Dan, "but I didn't touch him. I'm a psychiatrist. I talked to him."
"But ... so did I, and I did touch him." said Miles. "And I wasn't affected." He thought for a moment. "Wait, what happened while you were on the phone with me? You said something about ... somebody's face?"
"Yes! There was some guy with a terrible skin rash, oozing pus. He should be in the hospital himself. But he was clearly a man, not a woman." Dan's forehead was creased in thought.
"And yet ..." said Miles. "He touched you?" Dan nodded. "And just moments later ... this happened?" Dan nodded again. "I could have sworn there was some guy at the BP station near the ... the girl who says she's Tony ... as I pulled up, and that he had some kind of rash all over his face."
The other girl sitting on adjacent table speaks up shyly, "Excuse me ... but ... I happen to be ... that girl. It's me ... Tony."
Miles raises his eyebrows as Dan said in conformation, "It's him Miles. The finger prints match. She even has the scar on her back where that barbed wire fence got him last fall on the hunt we went on together."
Miles turns, totally flabbergasted. He asks, "What do you remember of this morning?"
Tony looks at Miles with pleading eyes and says softly, "There was this .... guy. He was walking around the parking lot in a daze. I came out and asked him if I could help. He turned on me. His ... his face looked like he had a case of terminal acne or something. He reached out fast as a snake and grabbed me by the arms. As soon as he made contact, it hurt totally all through me. The next thing I knew ... you were there."
Miles rubs his chin in thought. Becky gasps as her eyes get huge. She says with excitement, "Miles ... on the news last night. I think I heard something about a large fireball exploding over the National Park near the ...river. OMG ... if what ever it was got into the water ..."
Dan shook his head, "If that were the case, the whole town would be totally infected by now." Miles says thoughtfully, "There was this brown SUV that was covered in mud at the BP."
Tony nods, "Yup ... and they drove off without paying too."
Everyone looked at Tony.
"Wait ... 'they?'" asked Miles. "Was there somebody else in that SUV?"
"Um," said Tony, "Yup. Now that I think about it, there was somebody else. I didn't get a good look at him, or her. But they gassed up the SUV while the other one wandered around, got me, and then got back in. Then they drove off."
"Then ... they must have come here, to this hospital," said Dan. "They were here! Deliberately touching people, infecting them, changing them. Miles, it only takes seconds. If they're still here, they've got to be stopped."
"Agreed," said Miles. "I have to know something first, though." He walked up to Dan, took a deep breath, and shook his hand. He paused. "Anything?"
"You're not turning into a woman, if that's what you mean," Dan said.
"OK, that's ruled out," said Miles. "If you and Tony and the rest are contagious, and I don't think you are, it's got a much longer incubation period. I don't think you're ill or out of action -- I think you're just going to need some clothes that fit, until we can figure out how to undo this change. If you feel up to it, we could use the help. For now ... we have to catch those people."
Miles left the room, trailed by Becky, to look for the man with the oozing rash and the black eyes, and his partner, a man about whom they knew next to nothing.
On a lonely fire trail deep in the national forest, four vans with NASA emblem on the sides came to a stop near a sparkling stream. One of the Vans had a satellite dish on the roof that appeared to be swiveling around as four outriggers came from under the van and lifted it from its wheel base. All the doors open on the other 3 vans and 27 individuals climb out.
They gather around as one of the men holds out a small transistor radio sized devise and looks at the glowing face. He says, "All right men, according to satellite telemetry ..." he points off to his left up stream, "It exploded more or less in that direction. Any fragments would have left a trail of where it went through the dense under brush and impacted."
One of the individuals raised his hand. The man points and says, "Yes?" The young man asks, "What if the frags are radioactive?"
The man says, "There are geiger counters in the sat-van. Each one of you take one. Any more questions?"
The man looks around ... no one seemed to have any questions, "Ok, men ... we are going to have a long day, let's get to it."
The men go to the van with the dish on top and collect a g-meter, then depart in twos to look for fragments. They wander upstream for about half mile ... when suddenly twelve of the men fall to their knees and scream. The others come rushing to their aid ... until they came close. It was as if they crossed a line. They all tumbled to the ground and wallowed in agony. The last thoughts in their minds ... was a heart felt wish for death to take them from their misery.
The group leader happened to be far enough away, he was unaffected. Instead of rushing in as the others had done, he went to the sat-van ¦ and made a call for assistance, which was immediately referred to the local hospital.
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~~ End Pt1 ~~
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