THE PLANET THAT LOVED PEOPLE (standard:science fiction, 1547 words) [12/15] show all parts
Author: Danny Raven	Added: Mar 09 2016	Views/Reads: 1657/1139	Part vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
PART 2 - CH 12

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

The good times! When he and Sinto Ad had pulled off the greatest series
of inter-planetary robberies in the history of the Universe! When they 
had intercepted the Dreamtab consignments from Earth over and over 
again for years! With the Fleet chasing like fools around space trying 
to find them! Re-selling the consignments to a go-between for Earth 
then stealing the loads again out in space! 

Miller's eyes were closed and a dreamy smile was on his face as he lay
against the tree. Above him, Chameleon's lovely sky was indifferent. 

***** 

“How does it happen, turning into whatever bites you?” Blaze asked
Corthan. 

Corthan shrugged. “Nobody knows.” 

They were in Blaze's cabin and Corthan was explaining what had happened
to Miller and about Chameleon. 

“Muslik called it meta...meta...,” Blaze trailed off, frowning. 

Corthan smiled. “Metamorphosis,” he told him. 

“Yeah, that's it,” Blaze agreed then frowned again. “What's that?” 

“It's when a person changes into something else.” 

“Like what's happening to Miller?” 

Corthan nodded. 

“So he's going to change into a lizard!?” Blaze asked, eyes widening. 

“Yes.” 

“Jesus H. Christ!!” Blaze exclaimed. He had heard Muslik saying that and
thought it sounded good. 

“Kane should have killed him when he had the chance.” 

“So why didn't he?” 

“Because they were in the Fleet together a long time. Miller was still
Miller when he looked at him.” 

“But I thought he shot him with the laser rifle?” 

“It was set on ‘stun'. It would only have knocked him out for fifteen
minutes.” 

“Oh.” 

“Still at least Tyler is going to take out his clone and kill it so
Miller might already be dead.” 

“How did they know it was going to happen, this meta thing?” Blaze
asked. “If everybody who gets bitten turns into whatever bites them how 
did anybody find out about the place?” 

“The first Ships landed on Chameleon a long long time ago,” Corthan
explained. “When the crews were out exploring the planet some of them 
got bitten by insects or lizards or snakes. The ones who didn't get 
bitten saw what happened to them. The stories were passed on from 
there.” 

“Well I wouldn't have gone out if I'd been Miller.” 

“He didn't want to. We had to force him – remember? He was the only one
who could do the repair.” 

“Don't you feel bad about it now? About forcing him to go out?” 

Corthan sighed. “Of course I do. We all do.” He shrugged. “Sooner or
later we're all going to die anyway. It's just how you go that makes 
the difference.” 

“Well I hope Tyler keeps his word about Miller's clone,” Blaze said.
“D'you think he will?” 

“I really don't know,” Corthan replied. “Keeping Miller's clone alive
doesn't matter anymore but knowing Tyler, there's no telling what the 
bastard will do.” 

***** 

True to form, Tyler hadn't kept his word. 

In the morning, with the Dreamtab dream worn off, Miller started
screaming as soon as he woke. His tongue had grown in the night and now 
hung several inches outside his mouth. 

He tried to stuff it back in and his horror increased when he saw how
scaly and leathery the skin on his hand had become. He stood up and 
ripped off his jumpsuit. All his skin had taken on the same texture as 
the lizard's that had bitten him. He leaned back against the tree and 
slid down it, weeping. 

Flies began to buzz round him, attracted by his scent. Before he could
stop himself his long tongue darted out and trapped one, rolled round 
it and delivered it to his waiting mouth. He chewed and swallowed it. 

He started wandering round again, not knowing where he was going or what
he was doing. He tripped over logs and fell into thorn covered bushes 
but his leathery skin protected him. 

In the afternoon his sanity slipped a couple of notches. As he watched,
his arms started shrinking and changing until they became like the 
lizard's front legs. His fingers shrank and his nails turned into small 
claws. He fainted under the warm Chameleon sun. 

When he came to a couple of hours later, more changes had taken place.
His body had shrunk and his legs were in the process of shrinking. The 
pain was incredible. He passed out again. 

When he came to again he was no longer Miller, his head having shrunk
and changed into a lizard's when he was unconscious. He tried to scream 
but couldn't. 

Now Chameleon's velvety night was around him, crickets chirruping in the
bushes and a full red moon in the dark blue sky. 

Something rustled in the bushes close to him and terrified, he tried to
get up and run, only to discover that his legs were now the same size 
as the lizard's. The rustling noises grew closer and as quietly as he 
could he crept away. 

With his skin now the colour of dark leather and with a dark green
stripe on his back, he blended easily into the night. He crawled round 
awhile, trying to fight off the desire for food but it had been a long 
time since he'd eaten and hunger gnawed at him. 

He also had a burning thirst and the tinkling sound of running water
somewhere up ahead attracted him. He approached stealthily, his newly 
developed senses alert for enemies. 

The moonlit bank he was crawling along didn't give him much cover but
the grass was long and it deadened any occasional sounds he made. He 
crept forward to a slight dip and peered over. 

The tiny frog sitting by the stream neither heard nor saw him until it
was too late. Suddenly a dark shadow was over it and a half a minute 
later Miller was greedily devouring it. Legs, head, entrails were 
chomped in his mouth then swallowed. This time he didn't vomit. 

He drank quickly at the stream, glancing round between mouthfuls to
check for danger. Something disturbed a bird in a nearby tree and it 
flapped around in the branches sending him scuttling across the shallow 
stream into cover. 

He rooted around and hunted most of the night and towards dawn took
shelter in a large hollow tree. As he slept, a tail formed and the 
final changes took place in his body. The metamorphosis was almost 
complete. 


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