simon found it rediculous. in all his 20 years he'd never heard anything quite as crazy than what johnny had claimed.
'i'm serious! it's what they say!' johnny said. even though the blond was an intelligent guy and looked it thanks to his glasses, he was a little gullible. and excitable.
'so ''they'' say all these people who went missing left nothing behind but shredded clothes and sometimes, a blob of caramel or toffee?' simon said skeptically.
'it's just what i heard.' johnny said defensively.
the two were discussing a series of recent vanishings in the city. at first it was thought to just be people going missing for whatever reason, but when the third person vanished, the police feared there was a kidnapper or killer on the loose. but the only match between all the victims was they were between 18 and 40. nothing else had a pattern. both genders, mixed races, different politics, different sexual preferences, different hair colours, no clear link.
'i bet the shredded clothes thing was just at one scene. and the blob of toffee is mixed in from somewhere else. that's why they're urban myths, johnny. they're based on someting true but mixed up and distorted.'
'maybe you're right.' johnny conceded.
it was time though to close the store. the two worked here on the late shift, and had to lock up. simon had no idea that saying goodnight to his friend would be the last time he'd speak to him
***
johnny had been missing from work. he'd been missing from college this morning. his mobile was off, he hadn't called in sick... simon was worried.
he walked home after locking up the store himself, mind pondering his friend. he was paying little attention to the shape behind him until it struck.
'what the?' he said, turning in time to see something strike him.
it hit with a hammer blow, stunning him. he felt himself losing conciousness even as whatever attacked him began tearing at him. he heard his clothing rip, and as he blacked out he had no idea what was in store for him.
***
he awoke groggily. he could smell strangely familiar sweet scents and feel a chill. he opened his eyes, and tried to stand. he couldn't. he could feel he was in a kneeling position, but he couldn't move. something had him encased from the neck down, locked in place.
his eyes adjusted to the gloom, and he saw he was in a strange cavern. chocolate coated every wall, and rows of wrapped multi-coloured eggs tied with bows sat in the centre of the room, almost like easter eggs. he looked down at his body and found that he was stripped to his underwear and encased in a rock-solid ambery substance. it looked like caramel or candy, but it was as tough as steel. he couldn't move an inch. then he saw the shape.
'johnny!' he shouted.
sitting across the cavern, johnny sat in a similar pose and predicament. his freind was encased too, but from head to toe. blank eyes stared out from behind the coating, wearing only his underwear as well. simon saw a third shape in the room. the same pose, the same coating, but this third man was different. he wasn't a man. he was chocolate. sitting in a pose like a bunny, and simon thought he saw ear-like portions growing from the top of the encased life size chocolate statue.
'this is crazy...' simon told himself.
the red-haired young man was thinking it was all a dream, staring at the chocolate man and the encased johnny, before he heard a noise. an egg near him was splitting open. simon watched fearfully as a brown tendril emerged, and a thick white and yellow goo leaked from the egg. then it came out. and even though it looked rediculous, simon was terrified.
it had six legs and a long tail, shaped like an insect. the body seemed to be made up of a rabbit's face, a buck toothed grin with the ears possibly serving as eye stalks. the creature slithered free from the egg, and the ears probed the air.
'what the hell is this?' simon asked. the ears twitched.
'oh, hell no.'
it was crawling towards him.it slid over to him, and then climbed up onto his stomach. it slithered up even as simon fought and yelled to try and scare it off, but unable to move, he couldn't resist.
'hurk!' simon choked as the tail wrapped around his neck. the creature raised back, legs splayed out. simon stared in horror as it slowly moved back, and gave one last startled cry as it descended on his face at lighting speed.
***
he awoke again. all he could smell now was a caramel scent. he was now totally encased. he could see through the coating that the chocolate shape was gone, and johhny was... johnny was chocolate now too. he tried to fight his way free but he couldn't move, tightly encased from head to toe in candy.
then they came in. two humanoid brown bunnies, the same goofy buck toothed faces as the face hugging creatures, but these creatures were brown and made of chocolate. one had a gash in its shoulder that leaked a thick yellow-brown substance. caramel or toffee.
they carried another victim. a pretty looking girl about his age. she was unconcious, stripped down to her own underwear, and trapped encased in the bunny pose. her long dark hair was trapped partly, and flecks of the candy coating were stuck to other parts. they laid her down where the chocolate man had been.
she awoke, stared around the room, and then screamed. this seemed to cause an egg to split on cue. the creature emerged. she screamed and screamed. it seemed they used sound to help find their way at this stage, as the thing went straight towards her. her screams were silenced as the creature pounced, wrapping around her face and head. a twisted bunny mask.
over the next few hours, simon could only watch as the two others with him changed. the creature melted into the girl's head, vanishing away as the candy coating spread up. johnny meanwhile was growing ears. his face seemed to be changing below the coating. then, as the girl was coated totally, the thing that had once been johnny moved. the casing cracked, sheets of the shell falling off as a chocolate bunny stood up. it stared with the blank buck toothed face, before walking to the eggs. it stood there, and to simon's shock, spat one slowly from it's mouth. the egg joined the pile, and the johnny-bunny walked off.
simon had watched in fear, knowing that he was going to become the same thing that his freind had been transformed into. he passed out...
***
his kin laid the latest host in place. a male human. beside him the female human was well underway to joining them, almost about to be converted to their matter. but for him, it was time for him to join the hive.
standing up, his increased strength ripped the coating like paper, the shell was sharp but it mattered not, for his skin was just as hard as the shell. he would feel no pain, only basic instinct. first, he had to do his part to further the hive. he spat his egg free, laying it with the others. and then he joined his assistant. what had once been simon and what had once been johnny had by coincidence been paired together by the hive mind in their new forms. neither remembered what they once were. all they knew was now, and their instinct to serve the hive. find a suitable host, full-grown human of breeding age. prepare them, remove the majority of obstructions to the coating. encase them, leave their heads for the parasite form to be able to capture them. bring them back to the nesting ground. repeat...