The rodent-like thing was shockingly large. Almost two meters in length from tip to tail, it came up to nearly Nicole’s waist. Despite the old avian shape, it was furry. It stood on two powerful legs ending in sharp, clawed paws. Its upper body was tilted forward, counterbalanced by its long, fuzzy tail. Its front arms were short, paws seemingly twisted backwards; they were certainly not weapons but perhaps would allow for some manipulation of the environment. Its spine curved upward in a distinct shape, its head not unsimilar to that of a mouse, though far larger. Whiskers and a snout, though the distinct quill-like hair and lack of ears made it something else altogether.

  It was magnificent.

  And it was angry— chittering and chirping as it paced around the large metal cage it had gotten trapped inside.

  Here was a whole other biological marvel. But as much as Nicole’s curiosity was piqued, other traps would surely have their own large rodents by morning. This one would have the honour of being a test subject rather than going in a stew.

  Now was the next issue: “the creature” was not remotely physically capable. It had grown so large that slipping into an orifice wasn’t seemingly possible, nor was injecting any kind of larva. Nicole had thus been carefully monitoring the first aid kit for eggs and yet had found none.

  That left her with one last idea.

  Nicole grabbed the branch she had fastened a needle to. She was mostly confident the sedative would be effective based on its weight and N7’s similarity to Terra Prime, and thus similar biological patterns.

  She approached the cage, and the rat-raptor slunk back, letting out a hiss. Nicole checked the tip and, once satisfied with the plunger mechanism, raised the stick as if it were a spear.

  The rat-raptor let out a call. Nicole lunged. She would have missed the agile thing had she been a biological. But she had predicted its movement correctly, and in the rat-raptor’s attempt to flee, it had jumped straight into the needle's trajectory. The needle sank into its hide, and the stick emptied the plunger.

  The rat-raptor was letting out a panicked chirping as it ran around the cage. Nicole set the makeshift tranquillizer stick down and waited. It was making far too much noise; if someone awoke and came to investigate, it could become a big problem.

  The rat-raptor looked terrified, but it soon calmed and hunkered down. Curling around itself protectively as it continued to call out for help.

  Nicole felt a tad bad. At least the rat-raptor would not understand what was happening.

  After a few minutes, its defensive behaviour slumped into lethargy. She gave it a few more minutes, careful to ensure it was still breathing. When she was satisfied with the results, she fetched the first aid kit from her corner of the tent and opened it.

  The creature reached its arms out to her immediately, and Nicole let it wrap around her hand until it was soothed. She could see it now, the extra wrinkles, the discolouration; it was suffering. She hoped this would put an end to that and perhaps provide some more answers.

  She carried it over towards the large trap cage. Opening the lid, she gently prodded the rat-raptor. It let out a warbling chirp, flopping onto its other side in a vague attempt to escape her.

  She just looked down at the creature in her hand, hopefully it had the strength to do whatever it needed to do. She lowered it into the cage and wiggled her hand free. The creature plopped onto the ground, already reaching around itself and up towards her.

  She had decided it was comforted by heat, some kind of instinct driving it towards hitching a ride, however it could. She may not be a suitable host, but she was warm.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  One of its arms landed on the rat-raptor’s fur. Both creatures seemed equally panicked by that. It was somewhat ridiculous. The rat-raptor struggled to get its feet under it as the creature tentatively prodded it.

  Then, surprisingly quickly, the creature lashed out an arm, punching into the rat-raptor. It let out a squeak as it twisted away, but the creature suddenly seemed much stronger, wrapping its tentacles around it as it forced a second tentacle to join the first, literally prying into the rat-raptor.

  The rodent fought, and considering the sedatives, it must have been excruciating as the creature tore a small hole in its flesh, then it began to stuff itself inside.

  There was no blood, but the logistics were horrid. The creature was squishy enough that it moulded itself to its environment, preventing the rat-raptor from bleeding from the laceration as it crawled inside its body.

  The rat-raptor squealed horribly, the creature having forced the entirety of its lower body inside at this point, its fur bulging from the intrusion.

  Nicole grimaced. She had not exactly expected this. The creature had seemed so… inert in her presence. Yet this spoke otherwise. Had this happened to Elsy? Surely she would have made a fuss if a tentacled creature had torn a hole in her skin to crawl inside her.

  The rat-raptor kicked helplessly, forced onto its back as the creature slid further inside it. How it was still conscious, Nicole had no idea. How the creature even found space, Nicole had no idea. But it happened, and the rat-raptor kept squealing; someone was bound to wake at this rate.

  Finally, the creature managed to pop its head inside, slipping the rest of its body in. Four tentacled arms flailed from the wound in the rat-raptor’s abdomen, blood finally beginning to trickle out.

  The arms eventually wormed their way inside. The rat-raptor continued to writhe desperately, but it was too late. It was much too late. Perhaps if not sedated, it would have had a fighting chance. Nicole was now unsure if this had been worthwhile. Yet she couldn’t look away.

  The creature shifted and wiggled under the rat-raptor’s skin. It let out one more pitiful cry of desperation and then turned off like a light. Head falling to the ground, as in a fraction of a second, it just turned to meat.

  Nicole felt the odd urge to check herself for parasites and slip into a hazardous environment suit. She had been in such close proximity to the creature that, despite not having any organs, she desperately wanted to make sure there was nothing crawling among her insides. She shuddered at the image.

  What was the creature doing now? Eating? Was it not a parasite after all, but some kind of predator that burrowed inside its prey? Yet that made no sense with what had transpired on board the shuttle.

  Elsy had been suffering; something inside her was leeching away vital nutrients from her body and causing all sorts of issues. The parasite, the baby, it was all too much for her body.

  It was not unreasonable to mix up a parasite of this nature with cancer. Both leeched nutrients from the hosts, even microscopic parasites did that. It was as though a second, far more aggressive baby had been growing, one which took what it wanted.

  It had nothing to do with a second brain, or desynching, nothing to do with Elsy at all. She had not been defective, Nicole had. A defective doctor who failed to provide adequate care for her patient.

  She was the defective one. Elsy had been perfect.

  The rat-thing twitched. Its eyes snapped open, muscles contracting and straining wildly. Nicole did not know what was happening. Some kind of seizure? But then it stopped, the rat-raptor blinking awkwardly as it flexed its paws. Its tail jerked side to side, uncoordinated. Its legs twitched awkwardly, kicking out at the ground as it looked around. It almost reminded Nicole of various species of hooved mammals, which learned to walk minutes after being born, a certain reminiscent utter befuddlement at now having to use their bodies. But that hardly made any sense in this case. The rat-raptor was not a newborn infant. Perhaps the creature had flooded its system with some kind of chemical? But this reaction seemed to fade. Finally, the rat-thing managed to get its paws under it and stood, promptly launching itself onto its side rather than standing. It was as though it had no clue as to what it was doing. Perhaps a side effect of the sedatives coursing through its veins. Yet that had seemed to wear off in a flash.

  Nicole had been looking for answers tonight and yet had only found herself more confused.

  The rat-raptor finally looked up right at her, seeming to give up on the prospect of standing up. It opened its mouth and let out the most pathetic cooing whine Nicole had ever heard.