My next shift started out like any other would, on any other day, but as I ‘helped’ clean up the latest Current leak, I felt something… something… Somehow I couldn’t place this new feeling. Something deep within me defined it as ‘dark’. Evil.

My next shift started out like any other would, on any other day, but as I ‘helped’ clean up the latest Current leak, I felt something… something… Somehow I couldn’t place this new feeling. Something deep within me defined it as ‘dark’. Evil.
“Hey, buddy! Have any trouble with your call?” Grub asked as I walked into our shop compartment.
“Something doesn’t feel right, Grunfuller.” I announced and wondered why I was being so formal.
“Okaaaay? How do you know that, buddy?”
“The Current. It doesn’t feel right. It feels…‘off’, Grunfuller.”
“You’re being serious, aren’t you, buddy?” He asked as he came closer and studied my face. I noticed him glance to where my locket rested under my shirt.
“About seventy-five percent, Grunfuller.” I answered his unspoken question.
 
 
A chill suddenly shot up my spine!
 
 
“We need to find Dell and Sinae!” I suddenly shouted in alarm. I had no idea why I felt so driven to do so.
“You’re scaring me, buddy. Why do we need to find Dell and Kitty?”
Instead of answering, I headed for Section 10 and Freight at a fast pace. My crewmates moved to the sides when requested, but stared at me as I rushed through the passages.
“Hey! Wait up, Chance!” Grub exclaimed from somewhere behind.
 
 
It happened so suddenly and with no alarms or announcement from the bridge!
 
 
The airtight bulkhead directly in front of us slammed closed as the decompression alarms came alive indicating something happened in the Freight hangar bay.
Where Dell was stationed!
I changed direction and headed for her office’s secondary access point, the one I always used unofficially. A gasp of relief escaped my mouth as the door slid open without restriction.
Dell wasn’t here!
Peeking through the observation window, we saw the reason for the alarm.
Intruders!
A small shuttle-type vessel had come aboard and strange little creatures were rushing out into the hangar bay. The creatures, whatever they were, quickly subdued and collected the hangar crew and separated them in a straight line at about twenty foot intervals. They seemed to be attaching something to the hostages then stepping back quickly. The captured crewmen seemed unable to move.
 
My insides suddenly lurched and felt like they were twisting tightly! Something… my Current sense, maybe? Told me something evil… something dark was approaching my captured, fellow crewmembers out there!
“We have to stop them, Gr-“
A sudden blinding blue light engulfed each individual crewman, but not one of the invaders.
A loud chorus of screams filled my head as the blue arcs vanished as quickly as they had appeared!
Left in place of each captured crewman was a smaller, withered, disproportional, grotesque, body.
“They’re dead! They just killed twenty people, Grunfuller!” I said to my work partner.
“Chance! They’re not dead. They’re still moving. I don’t know how, but they look like those other things now! This is impossible. I must be dreaming!”
I looked closer and saw what he meant. Our crewmembers, or what had become of them, were definitely still moving. Grub was right! They did look like their captors- moved like them and everything. They seemed to voluntarily join the original invaders and headed for the exits.
“Let’s get out of here to spread the alarm.” I suggested, failing to raise the bridge on Dell’s control console.
“Right behind you, buddy.”
I rolled my eyes.
 
 
It seemed that the invaders were spreading faster than I anticipated. Two of the small freakish looking things turned the corner just ahead of us.
I have no idea why, but I reached for my Current rerouters and took one in each hand. I hoped Grub had done likewise.
Not stopping to think, I ran headlong at both and planted a rerouter in each one’s chest or thorax, or…or whatever they called their main organ repository.
A blue arcing sort of light traveled out of my quarry, through the rerouters, and up my arms! I could feel the Current flow into me! What were these things?
When the lightshow was over, nothing remained of my two adversaries. Nothing at all!
“What the…”
“Buddy! That was amazing! I never knew you could fight? Kitty teach you that?”
“We have to find them, Grunfuller! We have to find our friends!” I shouted as I continued past the site of our first encounter.
 
 
Another one of those strange creatures hit the wall at the opposite end of the passage leading to Sinae’s section bulkhead. I heard her familiar snarl. The tone of it sent instant shivers through my body.
Sinae was on the thing instantly and I was stifled by how fast she moved. Nothing she did seemed to faze the thing though and before we could get close the mid-passage airtight door slammed closed.
Running into the door stung a little, but didn’t hurt near as much as what was seen when I looked through the door’s small, safety porthole!
Sinae was frozen in place like those we had seen in the hangar!
Another creature pulled another immobilized crewman into view.
“DELL!” I screamed as I began pounding furiously on the safety hatch.
“What’s happening, Chance?” Grub demanded as he parried for a glimpse.
As before, both creatures had disappeared from the intersection and instantly the passage was ablaze with the mysterious blue arcing.
“NOOOOOOO!” I shouted at the top of my lungs while pounding on the thick, airtight door. The blue arc vanished. Two more ‘creatures’ had taken my friends’ places.
As I continued to scream and pound ineffectively, the two new creatures began to move. One reached out to the other awkwardly.
The blue arcs returned and quickly merged into one, bigger arc. It quickly ebbed to reveal one, larger, ‘creature’!
I felt my legs collapse and found myself on the deck, back against the traitorous, unresponsive, bulkhead door!
“We better get out of here before we’re next, buddy!” Grub urged as I felt him pull me to standing.
“Sinae… Dell… they… made them… turned them … to…” I tried to explain what I had seen.
“Like in the Hangar, Chance?”
I nodded as best I could.
“Touched… more blue light… became… became bigger one.”
“Shit! We really need to get out of here, buddy!”
“Quarters… mom… answers…”
“Copy that, buddy. Maybe your mom’s DataTab can tell us something. Come on!”
 
 

Grub and I had two more encounters on our way back to my quarters. The emotions… the anger I was feeling… it fueled my actions. Grub never got the chance to assist in our defense. Each time, the same thing happened; I absorbed the invaders and left nothing behind.
I was now very aware of the Current running around the Mare. It was more than tangible now. I could sense, smell, taste, and even vaguely see it. It seemed to be alive. It was ‘breathing’ in its supply conduits! Like a pulse!
It was beautiful!
“Where’s the DataTab, Chance?” Grub asked, drawing my attention back from my new senses, feelings, and sight.
“My bed.”
Before I knew it Grub was handing me something.
Mom’s concerned face looked back from the device.
“I’m sorry, Chance. They got here quicker than even my resources predicted.”
“What are they? How can we stop them, mom?”
As her image did several days ago, mom looked to her left. She frowned.
“Eighty-three percent. Still not near threshold.” She mumbled with worry.
“Mom? What are they? I know I can kill them. When I do, I absorb them! There’s nothing left. It’s like they’re made of Current.”
“They are abominations, Chance! They are indeed Current, but a Current that has been tainted with darkness and greed, among other disgusting things! You can kill and purify their Current because you are like me, honey.”
“Well that certainly explains everything!” I exclaimed sarcastically!
“How can I ‘purify’ Current, mom? How am I like you? What are we?” I demanded!
“Throughout the centuries, the Summers’ have led the war on the Hoblins. That’s what they call them nowadays. They never had any real subspecies name…if they wanted one. Chance, we have the power to…how should I say this…pass judgment on them…the defiled and tortured. Has your Current sight started to develop yet? It should have become visible, though vague, at eighty percent. Twenty below threshold.”
“I can sense, feel, taste, smell, and vaguely see ‘it’, mom. What am I? What are we?” I cried in distress.
“WE are what have been protecting the species from the Hoblins for fourteen hundred years, Chance! Since I obviously can’t be with you, you must go it on your own! Take Grunfuller with you and make sure he has a supply of those rerouters you seem to be so handy with. But remember those rerouters won’t work unless attached to YOU, honey.”
“Mom, they got to Sinae and Dell! They changed them into…Hoblins.”
“This has become far worse than I imagined. Chance? Honey, I want you to listen and listen carefully. I want you to absorb as many Hoblins as you can!”
“But what about Dell and Sinae? What if I have to absorb them? I don’t want to kill my friends!”
“Chance? Chance, listen to me, honey! You must absorb enough Hoblins to reach threshold! If you ever want to rescue your friends and crew, it is imperative you reach threshold! No redemption can be given before, do you understand? Grunfuller? Do you understand? Chance must reach threshold before any rescues can commence! The two of you work together very well. Use that relationship in your quest, and try not to get caught before threshold is achieved.”
“What happens when this threshold is reached, mother? ‘Something wonderful’ isn’t going to cut it this time, so answer the damn question truthfully.”
“I can’t elaborate on what will happen when you reach threshold, Chance. It differs for each of us. What I do know is once achieved; you will be able to restore your friends and what remains of the Mare’s crew.”
“What remains!?”
“The Hoblins are carnivorous if they start to run low on Current, Chance. You need to make threshold before that happens or you may lose your friends.”
“Yeah, no pressure there, huh?”
“Grunfuller! Get yourselves out there and save your friends! Chance, honey, you are the only one now that can repel and defeat the Hoblins! It is a Summers’ duty to protect the species! You are the last of the Summers! You can do this. Make me proud, honey!”
The DataTab went offline and a tiny wisp of smoke emerged from it.
“It self-destructed?” Grub gasped in surprise.
“I guess we’re on our own now, Grub. Time to make mom…make all the previous Summers proud. Let’s get down to the shop to pick up some supplies.”
“Copy that, buddy.”
 
 

 
 
“Think twenty re-routers will be enough, Chance? If not, we need to get to the storage compartment back at Freight.” Grub asked as he secured said twenty to his belt.
“It’ll have to be, Grunfuller. We can’t risk going back there and getting caught.”
“Sure you can keep it together enough to…to reach this ‘threshold’?”
“We’ll certainly find out! You ready, buddy?” I asked as I bit my lip nervously.
We were silent for a moment as we stared at each other awkwardly.
“By the way. You have my permission, Chance. Do it if you see a hole.” Grunfuller said neutrally.
“What? Your permission to do what?”
“Ground me, baby! If those things get to me and …you know…transform me…” He said sadly.
I was flabbergasted! My friend had just asked me to end his life rather than be possessed!
“Oh, Grunfuller, I…I couldn’t. I can’t!”
“Do it or I swear once one of them, I’ll find a way to bring every one of those stringy, gaunt looking, bastards down on you at once! Promise me, Chance Summers!”
Tears streamed down my face as I looked into his dead-serious eyes.
“I…I promise, Grunfuller.”
“Good, now let’s ground us some Hoblins!”
 
 
As mom predicted, Grub and I made an effective team. So far we had ‘grounded’ and absorbed fifteen genuine Hoblins and accidently killed four of our transformed crewmembers. I was hoping no more ‘conscripts’ would attack before I reached whatever ‘threshold’ was.
Lifting my locket from my shirt, I checked it. Mom’s portrait was almost completely colorized. Only a very narrow strip at the very top, remain colorless. I estimated ninety-five percent. Only five more til I reached…whatever.
Maybe my destiny?
Most likely my demise!
We were getting close to Sinae’s section again when we ran into four of them.
While Grub fought to ground his Hoblin, I struck out with both my rerouters and successfully grounded only one. I quickly regrouped and plunged my other rerouter into the one I had missed previously.
I could now easily see the orange colored Current flowing through the conduits of the storage hangar AND see that those Current conduits flowed freely in streams under the floor decking in straight lines, occasionally making sharp ninety degree turns to avoid structural components. All the sharp turns and branches reminded me of circuitry. It was…it was beautiful!
With three of the four Hoblins dispatched I turned my focus to the fourth and found myself watching the biggest, most disgustingly twisted and grotesque, Hoblin I had ever seen in my short experience with them, lumbering toward us!
“Watch! A big one is coming up behind us!”
My last adversary managed to knock one of my rerouters from my hand. I quickly replaced it with another from my belt and looked for my opening to strike the final blow.
‘NOW!’ something shouted in my head as I reacted instead of thinking. The blow found its target and I could feel Current surge into me once more.
“Buddy? A little help here.” Grub alerted.
I turned to see the huge Hoblin had Grub by his wrist and was trying to place some sort of small, round, bead looking device on him. I threw one of my rerouter at it. As luck would have it, I managed to get it to embed in its fragile looking, sickly gray, disproportional forearm.
The beast let out a hair-raising growl and bent over to the side to reach for the weapon. My eyes went wide as I noticed the remnants of a short, tan and orange tail about half way up the creature’s twisted, hunched, spine!
“SINAE!” I shouted.
“No way!” Grub shouted.
I saw the huge, gray-skinned, arm coming at me, but didn’t have time to react.
Everything went black.
 
 
The smell of death violently attacked my nose as I began to regain consciousness. My jaw felt like it had been dislocated from the widespread pain I felt there. Next I noticed that my hands were behind my back and that I felt another pair of hands tied to them.
“Grunfuller? That you behind me?” I asked quietly, trying not to attract the enemy’s attention.
“Nice of you to join the party, buddy. How’s the jaw? Was that… thing… really Sinae?”
“Dell and Sinae, combined, but I’m guessing someone else was merged with them. It was bigger than the last time I saw it. And to answer you’re other question; it feels like I lost a sparring match with Sinae. How long was I out?”
“Only a few minutes, Chance. Are they going to do what I think to us?”
“Seems like it, but why tie us up? I thought those bead-like devices paralyzed us victims?”
“Only thing I can move is my mouth, buddy; you?”
Carefully I tried wiggling my toes and fingers then tried flexing my arms and legs.
“Not so paralyzed. I can move my fingers and toes.” I told him.
“That might be the reason they tied us up then, buddy. So… your mom give you any secret pointers to get us out of this pickle?”
“I’m going to try something. Just try to keep looking frightened.”
“Not going to be a problem, buddy! Not. A. Problem!”
Concentrating, I opened my Current sense and began searching. There, on my right shoulder was a small bit of tainted Current. It had a slightly darker tint than what I had seen around the ship.
“Um… not to rush things, buddy, but the bad guys are pulling back! They did that before… you know… that.”
Quickly, I absorbed the small device’s Current and heard something small and metallic hit the deck. I hoped it wasn’t loud enough to draw attention.
“It’s been nice serving with you, Chance. Remember our pact if you manage to get out of this.”
I instantly saw the surge of ‘bad’ Current heading toward us from one of the Hoblins off to our left and concentrated as hard as I could. I had to absorb it to protect Grub! I had to save us so we could save our friends and shipmates! I had to survive! I pleaded to the higher powers for my survival. What mom had told me earlier rang through my head.
‘A Summers has always protected the species! A Summers will always perse-’
That thought was interrupted by the onset of the Current-based transformation surge. It felt like being thrown into an active star! My whole body felt aflame- the pain so intense I thought I would pass into unconsciousness at any moment! It would be easy to just let the blackness take me, but that was unacceptable! I had to fight this!
Somehow, somewhere close to me, I surprisingly heard what sounded like an old-time turbine spinning up! The whistle-like sound continued to increase in pitch and volume as I tried to absorb more and more Current. The ever-increasing whine became excruciating in my ears! If only I could keep it from getting to Grunf…
 
 
Every cell in my body exploded with the most intense pain I’d ever experienced! Yet, I couldn’t give up! Instead of folding, I doubled my concentration.
I had to do this. I had to save my friends!
The thunderously loud crackling of power arcing around us caused me to lose concentration and maybe consciousness.
 
 
 
I found myself standing next to someone about my height. A woman. She had long, flowing, black hair.
“Mom?” I gasped as I recognized her.
“I knew you could do it, honey! You’ve proven yourself a true Summers; but from here on everything will change. Everything will be very different. I hope you will find it for the better.”
“What happened? Am I dead?”
She gave me a warm, loving smile and replied, “I know it felt like that, but no. You are very much alive, honey. More alive than you’ve ever been before, than ever in your life as a matter of fact! What happened is you achieved your threshold, Chance.”
“So I exploded?”
Mom giggled pleasantly, her eyes sparkled excitedly.
“No silly. You have reached the threshold at which you can now use the Current to your desires. To your needs! In fact, you have just used YOUR Current to rescue yourself and Grunfuller, AND cleared the storage hangar of ,” she giggled again, “the bad guys.”
“Sinae and Dell!” I gasped.
“That merged, twisted and tormented, entity was not in the hangar bay, but you did ‘purify’ the area, honey. Good job.”
“How did I do that?”
“You requested your Current to help you protect your friends, Chance. I told you that Current is a living, breathing, entity. Don’t you remember?’
“Actually I’ve been a little busy lately, mom.”
“But you can see it clearly now; how it pulses; how it moves- flows- all around you?”
“I do, but that still doesn’t explain how it ‘agreed’ to help ME.”
“When you regain consciousness, have Grunfuller help you to your quarters. There are many things we need to discuss and many, many questions you’ll need answered before any further rescues are attempted, Chance.”
“Mom? What are we?” I pleaded for that all-important answer.
“Get back to your quarters, Chance! And please…please, don’t freak out when you wake up. As I said, things are going to be very different from now on…”
 
 
 
“Chance! Chance, you alive back there, buddy?” Grub’s voice called. It was laced with grave concern! “Talk to me, buddy.”
“I’ll live.” I groaned.
“Who’s that? Where’s Chance?”
“I’m right here, Grunfuller! Right where I’ve been since those Hoblins attempted to convert us.” I replied, though I really didn’t sound like me.
“Bullshit! Where’s Chance, Bitch!”
“Who are you calling a bitch, Grunfuller Lokust? You should be thanking me for shunting that conversion surge away from you; not calling your friend names! I should just leave you here to fend for yourself!” I responded angrily as I brought my hands from behind my back and rubbed the tingling from my wrists a few times.
Why did they tingle? Where had the zip-ties disappeared?
I brushed my hair out of my eyes and turned toward my friend.
“What is wrong with you, Grunfuller?” I asked.
Grub turned toward me and his mouth dropped open. What I saw of his face looked overflowing with Current! Pure, orange colored, Current. I blinked purposely and my sight returned to normal. He stared at me for what seemed hours.
“What…what’s wrong with me? What happened to YOU?” He asked after closing his mouth and inhaling sharply.
“I…I think I hit that threshold mom talked about. Why?” I asked as I brushed back more hair from my fac-.
Why was I suddenly brushing hair from my face? I always kept it close and tight. I felt my eyes widen as I chanced a look at my hand.
“What happened to me?” I screeched (yes, screeched! I didn’t realize my voice could go that high!) in shock looking at a hand that definitely wasn’t mine. Strangely, it had to be. I had full control over it and my other hand as well. But who’s hands were they?
“Maybe your mom can answer that question. We need to get back to your quarters to ask her, buddy.” Grub said as he struggled and finally stood up.
“Woah!” He exclaimed.
“What? Do I look like one of them? I didn’t shunt enough Current into myself?” I lamented as I continued to stare at my hands.
But they didn’t look like Hoblin hands at all, they…and none of the Hoblins I’d seen had long black hair! Small, delicate hands and long, thin fingers, long black hair? It was almost as if I was…
“How can I be a girl?” I shouted in surprised anguish as it all came together.
“I have no idea, buddy, but you definitely got it goin’ on!”
“Screw you, Grunfuller!” I shouted as I tried to stand. I had to get away from here…from him…from everything!
Try as I might, I just couldn’t figure out how to get myself off the floor. So, after a handful of failed attempts, and feeling as though I was going to have a breakdown, I did the unthinkable.
“Um…Grunfuller? Could you maybe help me up? I can’t seem to get coordinated here.”
“Thought you’d never ask, buddy.”
I felt his arms wrap around me from behind. That was when I realized there was more of me than I had observed!
As Grub lifted me to a full standing position, I could feel him at my back. It was then I realized there was more of him than expected, also!
“Is that what I think it is, Grunfuller Lokust?” I asked timidly as my cheeks went aflame.
“Sorry, buddy, but you wouldn’t blame me if you saw what I do right now!”
“And just WHAT do you see, Grunfuller?” I growled.
“Ummmm. We have to get back to your place, Chance! You can find out then. Come on!” He said as he began to pull me toward the compartment door.
If he hadn’t been holding tight, I might have fallen and sprained an ankle or even broken one when I tripped out of my standard issue work boots!
“Leave them! We have to get you out of here!”