Warning: This story features bondage and mild horror.

Context: This is a short story written for Day 8 of Kinktober 2025 using the prompt words Mimic and Imposter.

BWAAM! BWAAM! BWAAM! BWAAM!

The blaring alarm and flashing red light was giving me a headache. It was alerting us to the critical system failures in both the oxygen and temperature control systems. We were currently relying on the residual air and heat already generated, giving us a limited amount of time to restore the systems before we were really screwed.

A dangerous intelligent alien lifeform was loose on board the space station. It was responsible for all the disruptions.

Technician was busy rewiring cables in the wall to unlock the doors. The rest of us could only sit and wait, since the sabotaged lock system had us all stuck in the cafeteria, the largest room situated at the station’s midpoint.

Captain paced back and forth restlessly.

“Okay okay. Let’s go over what we know for sure. The... thing. It can cover organisms entirely within a thin but extremely tough layer of pink goop.”

Biologist, who was curled up with her knees between her arms, nodded and chimed in.

“It can mimic the DNA of a captured organism and morph into a perfect copy of it, even inheriting their knowledge, their memories, and their mannerisms.”

Technician called out without turning around or slowing her work on the doors.

“It can be incapacitated by electric shocks of at least 2 kilovolts. The electro-wrenches I retrofitted into tasers can only output a maximum of 1.3 kilovolts when fully charged. So it’ll require two people shocking it simultaneously to be taken down.”

Finally I contributed.

“And it’s already caught one of us. But we have no idea who.”

We all glanced over at the bundle wriggling on the floor. A human-shaped cocoon. A crew member with a clinging bubblegum-pink second skin. She was only making the occasional shake or moan now. We weren’t sure if it was because she’d run out of energy, or the goo had grown even tighter.

The person inside appeared to still be able to breathe, thankfully. But we couldn’t pierce the material without risking serious injury to them. We all had deep sympathy for whoever it was. At least, almost all of us did.

The space station had a crew of four women. Our uniforms were single-colour full-body jumpsuits, covering every inch except a circle for our face. We each had a different colour based on role. Crimson for Captain, teal for Technician, blue for Biologist, and finally purple for Pilot, myself.

Including the captured mystery-woman however, we numbered five. I looked back towards the others.

“One of the four of us is not who they appear to be. There’s an imposter amidst us.”

Sparks flew up around Technician. “Nearly there!”

Captain stopping pacing. “Alright. We don’t know how badly the systems are damaged and how long they’ll take to repair. The two control rooms are on opposite ends of the station. Every minute counts, so we can’t afford to waste time travelling to one spot then back to the other. We have to split up.”

Biologist startled. “What? We can’t split up!”

“Cap’s right” Tech acknowledged. “We might find ourselves struggling to breathe at any moment.”

I stammered “So what? Two go to oxygen and the other two to temperature?”

Cap slowly nodded. “Yeah, we’ll need to-”

“Hold on!” Tech interrupted. “That won’t work. One baton won’t hold the thing back. Two and two is guaranteeing that someone gets consumed.”

No-one spoke for a moment. The damn alarm kept blaring. It was hard to think.

Cap sighed. “Three and one. That’s the only split that works. Oxygen is the more immediate concern so that’ll be where the three go.”

I wondered aloud. “But if the solo person is the interloper, then temperature is never getting fixed.”

“It’s only a 1 in 4 chance that happens.” Tech interjected. “It’s still our best bet. Worst case scenario, the trio will have to head to temperature once they’re done with oxygen.”

Bio yelled. “No way I’m going anywhere on my own!”

“It should be Tech.” Cap said gravely. “Assuming you get the doors open, that’s a solid sign that you’re not the saboteur. You’re the closest thing to someone I trust right now. No offence girls.”

Bio and I didn’t respond. Her reasoning was sound. And neither of us were keen on heading off alone anyway. Tech didn’t say anything further either.

FWWHP!

All the doors in the room suddenly slid open.

“She did it!”

“Come on ladies, move it!”

Cap, Bio and I approached the nearest door, while Tech crossed the room, almost stumbling over the wriggling pink heap, towards the far door. She threw us a hopeful nod and ran through it. 

The three of us stared at each other in turn, each taking a wary step back from the other two. With batons at the ready, we cautiously headed out of the cafeteria.

BWAAM! BWAAM! BWAAM! BWAAM!

We traversed the station corridors in single-file, leaving ample space between each other. I was at the front, but I spent more time glancing behind me than looking ahead. Not only because I was afraid of Captain ambushing me from the middle position, but because I need to be ready in case Biologist ambushed her from behind.

I was so relieved when I finally stepped into the small square room that housed the oxygen pumps. I quickly backed up against the side wall, facing in. Cap hurried forward and did the same against the opposite wall.

Bio sighed as she stepped up to the central unit. She knew the system best, so she was the natural choice to take the helm. She pulled open the main access panel, and the problem became immediately apparent. Pink goo gummed up the main pumps, preventing them from moving. She flicked the baton’s setting to a focused flame, and got to work clearing the blockage.

There wasn’t room enough for more than one person to reach inside the panel. Bio continued burning away the contaminant alone, but kept throwing nervous sideways glances at both of us.

“Could you just... just both move into the corners or something? I can’t concentrate while I can’t see you.”

Cap’s eyes narrowed. “That would move us closer to you.”

“So? I’m fixing the problem aren’t I?”

“Maybe. Or maybe you’re just going through the motions until we let our guard down.”

Tension was heavy in the air. I was getting anxious. Was the air already running thin or was I imagining it from the stress? Was Bio getting close to done? I inched forward to try to peer inside...

“Whoa whoa! Back the hell off!”

Bio got spooked by my approach and took several strides back the panel, putting us both back within her sight.

“Trying to stop me from finishing the repairs ‘Pilot’? Or so you would appear.”

“No of course not! You’re being paranoid.”

“Am I? Chances are high it’s one of you two.” She brandished her baton back and forth at both of us.

Cap looked on edge as well but tried to speak as calmly as she could. “Look, you’re nearly done. If you’re really Bio, just go back to the panel and keep going.”

Bio’s glare darkened. “Both of you, give me your batons.”

“What?!” Cap and I exclaimed in sync.

“You heard me. I’m not continuing until you do."

Captain didn’t move. “And why should we trust you?”

I took a tentative step forward. “Bio you’re not thinking straight. What if I took over the fixing of--”

“S-stay back!!”

She threw a crazed look at me.

“Is it you Pilot? You're the one who originally suggested we go in pairs. Hoping we’d fall for it huh? You’re the only one not helping, just watching and waiting...”

She took a step closer to me. “Drop your weapon.”

Her unhinged mania was scaring me. Another step closer. This wasn’t like her. This couldn’t be her. It was an act, sowing doubt, just enough to pounce on me before we could react in time and stop her together.

“Captain help me! Stop her!”

“No it’s you! It was Pilot all along. You’re the impost-”

“GGGREAHGHGH!”

A huge pink mass appeared behind Bio and clamped in around her body.

“AAAGHH!!”

She fell forward, landing flat on her face. There was no Captain in the room anymore. Just me, Bio, and the pink blob spreading over her.

I gathered my wits enough to thrust my arm forward, plunging the baton’s tip into the alien. The pink surface crackled and undulated, but the edges kept creeping out. One shock wasn’t enough.

Bio was still gripping her baton in her hand, blindly stabbing it into the blob at an awkward angle. It wasn’t working... She’d never switched it from flame back to stun, and couldn’t do so one-handed. It poked the fleshy mass harmlessly. I reached down for her baton, but the blob spurted over it before I could grab it.

I backed up in horror, listening to the wet slopping sounds of the entity seeping all over Bio, fully surrounding her, then shrinking in on her. Her arms were drawn in, her legs pulled together, her movements gradually slowed.

A large clump rose up from her back. It morphed and mutated as it kept rising, narrowing into the shape of a person. The pink colour shifted to blue. A face materialised. Bio’s face.

The real Biologist remained wriggling helplessly on the ground in an unbreakable pink sheath, as her perfect doppelganger stepped off of her. And smiled at me.

With my heart in my throat, I turned and sprinted away.

The run back was much faster than the outward trip. I didn’t glance backwards a single time. Not until I burst back into the cafeteria, shaking and hyperventilating.

Technician was already waiting, sitting on a table and keeping an eye on the door. She leapt up on seeing me enter. It took me a moment to catch my breath.

“Tech... there was...”

I realised her body language was tense, regarding me with suspicion.

“Why are you alone?”

“B... Bio... was...”

A third person ran into the room. Biologist, or rather, the alien creature that resembled her. She pointed at me.

“Tech, that’s not really Pilot!”

“W-what? I'm real. She’s the imposter!”

“It attacked Captain right in front of me! it would have taken me too if I hadn’t grabbed a second baton in time.”

“She’s lying!”

“Oh yeah? Notice that the alarm has stopped? I’m the one that fixed the oxygen.”

“She.... Th-that doesn’t matter. I saw her change! It’s her!”

Tech was already moving. She and the alien now stood on opposite sides of me, and were getting closer.

“Tech please! You can’t listen to it. I’m human. You’re making a mistake!”

I wasn’t able to argue any further, as the full charge of two batons struck my body. My muscles had seized up before I even hit the floor. I was left twitching, my mouth hanging open.

Tech looked nervously at Bio. “That’s it right? We got it.”

Bio just grinned back. I watch as her body bisected down the middle, the innards all a fleshy pink essence. It engulfed Tech, cutting off her scream and dragging her to the floor like it did the real Bio. Then it rose as faux-Tech, leaving another pink squirming worm of a person behind.

She strutted over to me, crouching above my motionless form, speaking in Tech’s voice.

“Don’t worry human. I will keep you all alive. We will all play together~”

She crouched above me, leering down. Her body, and worst of all her facial features, started drooping. Before my eyes they melted, turning pink, spilling down all over me. The goo filled my open mouth, since I couldn’t close it in my stunned state. I screamed silently as I was completely covered by the alien’s slimy constricting essence.