Deadline
Cathleen sighed as she put down her mug of coffee, her tired eyes scanning the endless rows of code in front of her. She hated this; the final days of the deadlines always meant overtime, UNPAID overtime, and ulcers for everyone on the team. She put down the mug, labeled "World's Best Computer Engineer (and a damn fine lover as well)" and scoured her overflowing desk for her pack of cigarettes. The mug had been an anniversary gift from a boyfriend two years ago, just about a week before they broke up and neither parties showing any interest in seeing each other again. She'd kept the mug though, partly because she wanted to remind herself not to jump into a doomed relationship again, partly because of the irony of it. Zack had constantly been dropping hints that she was boring in bed. It was like fucking a piece of soft driftwood, he'd so politely explained when she'd asked him.
Fuck Zack. She finally got her packet of Lucky Strike's out and got up from her office chair. The room she was in was the typical office cubicle hall, high roof yet making you feel so cramped you might as well have been locked inside a submarine. All around her was the muffled tic-tacs of people typing on their keyboards, the occasional curse or oath muttered whenever something didn't work to the specifics given. The software they were working on was originally supposed to be a complicated Protein and RNA sequencer, but halfway through the project the clients had also requested a construction module to be made for it. Sufficient to say, that had delayed the project considerably.
Cathleen scratched behind her ear absentmindedly as she stepped into the elevator to go to the bottom floor. The company had a non-smoking policy, which meant that any unlucky bastard with the filthy habit would have to step outside, no matter what the weather was, in order to satiate their addiction. Scratching again, harder this time, Cathleen wondered when she'd had a proper wash-up last. It wasn't as if she didn't shower, she was usually quite meticulous when it came to cleanliness, but lately she'd barely have enough time to brush her teeth in the morning. The Boss had been absolutely clear about what would happen if they missed another deadline. She wished horrible boils upon him and all his descendants as she stepped out of the elevator, brushing back her strawberry blonde hair. Maybe she ought to get a shorter hairdo, she pondered as she punched in the combination for the door, the electronical lock clicking as it swung open, letting in the cold and biting autumn-wind. She shivered as she stepped outside, fumbling with the pack of smokes and her lighter. Shorter hair would be easier to handle, her almost waist-length do really didn't work with her current lifestyle... and her female colleagues had continuously commented on how "Out of style" and "Spinsteresque" her hair was, especially since she usually kept it in a bun.
Outside it was chilly, winter approaching with hasty steps. She hugged herself quickly before putting the lit cigarette into her mouth, looking out over the quiet and desolate industrial area she had the luxury of working in. Rents were, of course, cheap, and these kind of software companies always lived right on the edge of bankruptcy, she knew that very well. This was her fourth company since she started down this career, and the one that had lasted the longest. The others had folded like poorly built houses of cards.
She blew a stream of smoke into the night and yawned loudly, the chill and her tiredness getting to her. Perhaps she'd call it quits "early" tonight and head home to soak in a way overdue bath. She sucked her cigarette thoughtfully, the paper slowly burning inwards, and then blew out a cloud of blue gray smoke. Yes, that's what she'd do, head home and forget about this dreary code work until tomorrow. She tossed the butt and ground it with the tip of her shoe, glimmering pieces of ash spreading in the wind. She'd go home, right after she finished the last bit of the code she'd been working on.
It was way past midnight when Cathleen finally unlocked the door of her two-room apartment and shuffled inside, her eyes so heavy she felt as if she could fall asleep right where she stood if she lost her concentration.
Taking off her coat and scarf, the 20-something, University of Michigan graduate, Smoking-Hot-And-if-you-don't-think-so-I-thank-you-for-not-sharing-your-opinion woman let out another drawn-out sigh as she hung her coat before pulling off her thin leather gloves, her fingers blueish-tinted at the tips, the eternal curse of the smokers and keyboard-enthusiasts, circulation really took a beating.
"Hey honey, I'm home." She called out from the small hallway as she slipped out of her shoes, wringing her fingers to convince her blood that going into them was a good idea. "Sorry I'm late; work's been hell, as always." She stepped into her living room and walked up to the Vivarium in the corner of the room, cooing softly as she approached. At first the vivarium seemed empty, and then suddenly something stirred within it, and a leopard gecko, quite small in size, suddenly sprung out from underneath a twisted and knobby piece of wood. "There you are, you sneaky little git." Cathleen chuckled as she put her hand down into the glass cage, the little reptile turning its bright green towards it curiously. Then, realizing it belonged to its master, the gecko approached it and allowed itself to be picked up, emitting a low chirp as it was lifted into the air.
"Hey there, mommy's been really busy at work lately, but you know I love you." Cathleen whispered softly as she stroked the lizards muzzle slowly. The green reptile nibbled at her finger a little, but mostly seemed to enjoy the attention it was given. Holding the little gecko in her hand, Cathleen went over to her phone, pulling out the cord. After turning off her cell-phone as well, she set her alarm clock, just in case, and then headed to her bathroom. Mickey, the gecko, wasn't that fond of hot water, but she wanted to cuddle with him a bit more before she went for her long-overdue soak.
As she opened the door she thought for a moment that she heard a faint whirring sound coming from inside, but as she turned on the light nothing seemed particularly out of the ordinary. It was a cramped bathroom, but somehow the previous owner had managed to put in a bathtub that allowed the fairly short Cathleen to stretch out enough to cover most of herself in the soaking, healing warm water. Of course, that meant that the remaining floor-space became cramped indeed. There was roughly two square feet of floor. Back when she and Zack had been a pair, he would have jokingly called the room their little "Fetish den". If there was one thing the two had shared, it was their shared love of Bathtub-love making, and some of her fondest memories of him were in there... which really showed how shallow their relationship had been. It HAD been the only place where, according to Zack, she was actually enjoyable to screw, and that as well only served to remind her how happy she was without him. So what if she didn't feel comfortable making sounds or bouncing around so much that the neighbors could hear them? The walls in the building was thin as paper, and many a times she'd heard Mrs. Next-Door scream in sheer passion out when Mr. Next-Door fucked her brains out.
"Break's over, time to get back into your cubicle and work, Mr. Slave." Cathleen cooed as she twisted the tap for the tub, steaming water soon streaming down from it. In an obvious gesture of protest, Mickey nipped her finger a little bit harder, drawing some blood from the wound.
"Ow! That's it mister, you can forget about those crispy and delicious wax worms tonight. It'll be crickets for you." The bite stung a bit, but she was used to it. She carried to aggravated little reptile back to his vivarium and crouched down, opening the top shelf of the low cabinet to reveal another, much smaller terrarium housing some deliciously fat and crunch worms. She never had the heart to punish the little lizard, he was a gold dust after all, and thus he was getting his favorites tonight anyway. She scooped up a couple of the worms and then closed the cabinet again, dropping the live food into the vivarium. "After this, it's bed-time buddy."
She stepped towards her kitchen, nurturing the small bite as she turned on the water boiler, filling it with water while grabbing the jug of milk from the fridge. "Whew, what a day..." she groaned to herself as she poured up a bit of milk in her biggest tea-cup, putting the jug back into the fridge while scouring through her numerous flavors of tea. She was a coffee-junkie; you couldn't work at a place like she did without being one, but after that last cup she really didn't want to find herself unable to sleep tonight. It'd been bitter; WAY to bitter, and it'd left a strange aftertaste in her mouth. Nobody at work seemed to remember being told the coffee company had switched brands in their vending machines, but they did agree that the taste had seemed strange. Maybe they were so used to the old, soggy stuff that when the maintenance-man had brought in a new stock of powder this morning, the taste of fresh coffee was alien to them.
She chuckled as the water finished boiling up and she poured it into the milk, finally settling on Muscat nut. Bringing the large cup into the bathroom, Cathleen hummed for herself, missing the whirring sound now coming from the kitchen. Turning on her stereo, she wheeled in the station for calm and relaxing music before finally she began to take off her clothes.
She knew why Zack had hit on her, the first time they met. She looked good, not great but good. She had a nice figure, which hadn't been spoiled by endless days of sitting in front of a computer (thank God), and she had a pretty, or well, "cute" face. She'd been breaking out in zits lately, though, but she guessed it was the lack of sunlight coupled with her stress. This bath would do its part in cleansing her.
As she unhinged her bra she felt a shiver of delight running down her spine. Slipping out of her panties the now naked 20-something computer tech stepped into the bathroom, keeping the light turned on. It wouldn't do to fall asleep in the bath, even IF she'd set the alarm. She had no interest in waking up in a tub full of cool water with her skin looking like a dried grape.
Another whirr and she turned around, looking at the small vent that she kept closed up most of the time. It was slightly open, the blinder-like cover revealing the darkness inside. She sighed and leaned up to flip the lever for closing the blinds. As she did so she thought she saw a gleam of something inside, but whether it was due to her tiredness or a simple unwillingness to exert herself more than necessary, she let it go and turned to the steaming tub. As she slid her foot into it, another shiver of joy scoured through her body, and then she was in the tub, a lazy smile on her face and Barry White's wonderful bass voice soothing her tired mind. She sipped her tea softly and felt her eyes grow heavier for every wonderful minute she and Barry spent together. Her worries drifted away, disposed off by the Zen-like state brought on by the therapeutical feeling of being enveloped by hot, clean water. She heard her, somewhere in the distance, the sound of a key in a lock. She yawned and slid even deeper into the tub, the tip of her nose just above the surface. Then footsteps, muffled voices... were she dreaming? No, she... just...
When the four men entered the bathroom, they found the woman they were after, asleep in the bathtub, her breathing relaxed and in no way disturbed by their presence. The four suits looked at one another, and then one of them, picking out a small lacquered case, gave a short chuckle. "Too easy." He muttered as he opened the case, taking from it a syringe with a clear liquid in it. Pressing the needle to the sleeping woman's arm, he injected the sedative.
Cathleen woke up with a gasp, her entire upper body flinging into a sitting position as she was quite literally torn from her sleep. Eyes wide she looked around herself, seeing a clinically sterile, light gray room. In front of her was a man in a lab coat, holding a half-empty syringe and looking at her with a slightly bemused, slightly indifferent expression. She remembered him from somewhere.
"Ah, I see that the injection woke you up. A rude awakening, especially since we had intended for the effect to have been done before you woke up." The man put the needle on a metallic tray and gave her an obviously false apologetic smile. "I'm afraid we're not entirely sure if this will be painful or not, so you have my deepest regret if it should prove to be so. Now, I must leave, but..."
"Who the hell are you?" Even Cathleen seemed surprised by the anger in her voice. "Where am I!?" she opened her mouth to say something more, but before she could utter another syllable the man shook his head slowly.
"Now now, Cathleen," he paused, "I hope you don't mind if I call you by your first name. You DID introduce yourself with it, after all." He made a motion towards Cathleen's right, and she realized with a sudden terror that she couldn't move to look at what he'd been motioning too. She was strapped to a chair!
"Let... Let me go! Who are you!?" She growled, fighting against the restrains. It felt chillingly like a dentists' chair, except of course for the straps that bound her arms, leg and neck, and another gasp emitted from her mouth as she realized she was naked. "Why are you doing this to me? How, How did you...!?"
The man sighed and took a step backwards as another man in a lab coat appeared from where he'd been motioning, pushing the wheeled tray out through a door. "Really, I don't have time for this Cathleen. We met just a few days ago, and as to what we're doing... I really don't think an explanation will be necessary, I'm sure you'll understand in just a little while."
"But I DON'T understand!" She yelled, twisting and turning like a snake under her bonds. "I don't... I don't...!" She was at a complete loss as to what to say. The last thing she remembered was being in her bath. Now she was in an uncomfortably cold dentists' office, stark naked in front of a man she didn't... no, wait... "You...!" Her eyes widened in shock as she remembered, "You're our client! Mr. Dansburgh! You..."
"A taken name, of course... I couldn't very well tell you my real name now, could I?" The man she'd thought was Mr. Dansburgh, the CO of a small but successful agricultural company seemed stressed, because he was looking at something behind her, shifting his attention to and fro constantly. "Yes, I represent the client that, just a few weeks ago, signed a deal with your company, a multi-million deal I might remind you, for software properly designed for our... needs. Yet, here we are, close to the deadline, and the software is... well, far from done." He made a gesture of mock surprise and began to pace. Apparently he'd been somewhat prepared for this, because everything from what he said to what he did seemed rehearsed a thousand times.
"What you don't know, Cathleen, is that the CEO of your company signed a secondary deal with us. In it, he promised to supply us with another resource we are in dire need of, should it prove that the Applications would not be finished by the deadline." She stared at him, her eyes slowly getting used to the bright light of the room, and the equipments lined up along the wall. Before "Mr. Dansburgh" resumed his speech, a trio of big, burly looking men in warden-like uniforms came in through the door, approaching the chair she was fastened too.
"P-please, you've got to help me! I'm innocent, I'm..." she whispered to them, fearful that she would be overheard by the madman. "I don't know why I'm here, p-please!" The men were either deaf, or chose to ignore her, as her pleads for help came to nothing. Tears were streaming down her face now as "Mr. Dansburgh" resumed his speech.
"Naturally, we wouldn't attempt to do this without the proper knowledge. The method of modification we requested to be included in the software has already been created, although the process is cumbersome and, ultimately, far too expensive for our taste." As he spoke Cathleen felt a sudden wave of queasiness fall over her, her stomach churning slightly as if she'd eaten something spoiled. "We are a manufacturing company, a military contractor to be specific, and we really have to provide results in order to keep our momentum, it's a deadly business after all." He chuckled at a joke she was sure he'd told himself in front of the mirror hundreds of times.
"I don't know what this has to do with me!" She yelled, motionless now as she'd given up the struggle for now, the men doing something with the chair she was fastened to, whirrs and clicks coming from underneath her.
"Oh, but I think that's not really important now. What is important is that you, Cathleen, were one of the resources provided to us by your compliant CEO. For some time we've been monitoring you, as well as many others of your co-workers, to make sure you would provide... fruitful efforts." He paused and looked over at the men working on the chair, "Could you please hurry up? We have yet to get an estimate of the Incubation period; she could enter the third phase at any seconds!"
Third phase? Incubation period? She barely understood what he was saying, let alone what he was talking about. Her head felt like it was going to burn up, her eyes were watery and her stomach kept on twisting and turning as if they were trying to expel themselves.
"Any way, there really shouldn't be any need for worry, we have worked out most of the kinks in OUR system, but this'll be the first time we're testing out your work. Of course, I can't guarantee success, but fatality rates are as of yet zero per cent." He chuckled again as suddenly the chair shook loose and began to roll over the floor. Apparently the warden-like men had unscrewed a fastening-device, now they were going to take her somewhere else.
"Of course, while fatality might not be an issue, there HAVE been some rather... messy results. We have some high expectations for the work you've done; however, there really shouldn't be anything to worry about."
If he thought he was consoling her, or even making her relieved, he was sorely mistaken. Her fear grew constantly as the chilly air in the corridor she was pushed into made the tiny hairs on her body stand up, Goosebumps appearing all over. She was blushing furiously, both because of the indecent situation she was in, as well as the fever-like state that had befallen her.
They pushed her through several pathways lined with doors. She couldn't get a good look, as her head was stuck in a position of diagonality, she could see the upper bodies of the men pushing her and the roof. Her ears, however, weren't quite as constrained. Not once she let out a gasp as she heard yells and groans of pain and terror, many of them vaguely familiar. What had that damn boss of her done? What kind of madmen were these? What were they going to do to her?
She wept silently at her plight, her entire body slowly becoming hotter and hotter as if the fever was spreading downwards, her chest heaving with sobs. What's worse was that she was also feeling a stirring in her loins. Somehow, the situation, or something else, was exciting her, and the moist, warm feeling of her sex told her that it was enough to get her wet. She tried her best to press her legs together, but she couldn't help but gasp at every bump in the floor, the smallest of jolts feeling like the thrust of a huge cock into her pussy.
"Well, Cathleen, I really can't tell you much else, but perhaps a word of encouragement. If this is successful, and I have no doubts it will be, you will quite certainly not suffer from it. Quite the opposite in fact."
It certainly didn't encourage her one bit. What were they going to do to her? She struggled again, ignorantly hoping perhaps that her bonds had weakened since last, but they remained as unforgivingly tight as before.
Then a sharp turn and she found herself in a small, cell-like room, the walls and floor like those of a mental asylum, a padded cell.
"We unfortunately have to do this as, in some cases; the third stage can be quite... affluental on the body." "Mr. Dansburgh" explained as the chair was positioned in the doorway. A mechanism was activated and the chair began to move slowly, pushing her forward into something like a standing position, realigning itself to form something like a slab. She was pushed further, and then the chair interlocked with the door and the constrains released her, sending her sprawling to the floor. Before she'd even have time to react the slab-like chair had been pulled back and a door had slid into the opening, padded just like the walls and the floor.
She stood slowly, looking around, shivering and sweating profusely at the same time. Her eyes simply wouldn't stop crying, and she hugged herself tightly. The room was quite high; she couldn't reach the roof even if she jumped. In fact, it seemed even higher up than when she'd first seen... no, it was rising! 10 feet up, a one-way window began to appear as the roof continued to rise. The glass panel stretched across the same wall as the door had been, and was large enough for someone to get a good overlook of what was happening down where she was. What was going to happen during the third phase?
She sat down again, gasping involuntarily as her sex, still moist, grazed against the pads under her. Her mind was clouded by the heat of the fever and she had trouble thinking anything more than about her home and how scared she was. What had he been talking about? Military contractors? Were they going to turn her into some kind of weapon? A walking bomb maybe? Perhaps they'd discovered some way of changing a person's biological make-up into an explosive solution? The code she'd been working on had been harmless enough, had she really been helping this?
She let out a long, meaningless howl of fear and terror as she scuttled up to a corner, hugging her knees tightly and pressing herself against the cold material of the pads.
Then suddenly she tensed up, her entire body becoming stiff as a plank. She couldn't move a muscle, not even her eyes, and a silent scream built inside her, unable to come out. Then a flash of white, her head feeling as if she'd just been hit by a bat. Stars flashed before her eyes as an incredible itching sensation came over her. Her skin was becoming red, as if she'd been sun burnt. As soon as her muscles relaxed enough for her to move she began to scratch herself feverishly. Everywhere she was red and swollen, her vellus hair falling wherever she scratched, skin shedding off as well. She gave a long, drawn-out grown in pain and relief as the scratching eased the itch somewhat, yet it only came back a thousand folds seconds later. Her fingers, curved stiffly travelled all over her body, nails tearing and trails of blood mixing with the clumps of sweat, hair and skin. Her stomach, her chest, arms, neck, legs, everywhere it was scratching. Then her crotch, her genital hair falling off just as easily, revealing her sopping wet cunny, the swollen labia twitching with blood pressure as she half-fingered, half scratched herself.
She felt incredibly embarrassed, but she couldn't help herself. Sweat trickled down her entire body as she ran her fingers up and down, up and down. She was burning up, the hair on her head falling off as well, great clumps of it falling to the floor as new hair, coarser and strangely shaded, began to grow over her body, much denser than her previous hairing. She hissed deeply, her breath in gasps, one hand fingering herself violently and another scratching all over herself. Her nails were in shreds now, but she barely felt the pain. Her entire body twitched and turned, her body completely out of control. She saw through misty eyes how the new hair was scratched off as well, only to be replaced by newer, coarser ones. She was rolling, grinding herself against the floor, the itch not going away. Tears continued to stream as she felt her pussy come, her sexual fluids seeping over her fingers and onto the floor, seemingly unendingly. She groaned again as her hips began to buckle violently, her pelvic bone expanding inside her, her already hourglass-like shape becoming even more feminine as the fat of her body seemed to melt away, yet only slightly, some of it repositioning itself to enhance her woman features. She realized that the hair that was growing, and that she was shedding equally fast, became rougher and rougher, soon looking more like fur than anything else. It was fairly colorless, yet seemed to grow stronger in color as well for every time it was shed and regrown.
She suddenly arched her back completely, her feet digging into the floor with surprising strength. Her skin rippled spastically as her muscular density began to alter itself, disconnecting her nerve-ends and making it once more impossible for her to move. She opened her mouth wide as her body relaxed, and then tensed up again, repeating it over and over. Every time her muscles seemed to become enhanced, buff yet incredibly compact, her slim figure kept yet her musculature looking like that belonging to a body-builder. Her chest, however, had remained unchanged, aside from the constant growth of fur. Then suddenly they seemed to expand, swelling past her usual C-Cup to D. She shrieked in pleasure as every nerve in her body sent the tingling sensation that she usually felt in her nether-region, a full-body orgasm shaking through her as her nipples began to swell, droplets of milk forming as her areolas swelled, puffing out considerably. Another stirring in her abdomen as welts quickly formed just above her pubic region. Four small welts quickly growing, the skin between them soon catching up to form something that could only be described as an udder.
"W...what?" She managed through the raging bliss-like state she was in, her fingers once more finding her pussy, small, claw-like tips forming in every finger. Unconsciously they were kept inside their newly formed sheaths, allowing her eager fingers to continue pleasuring her, her clitoris throbbing hardly, every touch of it an orgasm in itself. Her second hand, unable to constrain itself, began to press down and rub on her breasts and udder, milk slowly leaking out, yet soon building into a stream trickling down her belly and her sex. Whether it was the effect of the milk, or just another part of the transformation, her clit slowly began to grow, twitching and throbbing.
Still the changes weren't over. Her face pushed out into a muzzle, her teeth having already fallen out and replaced with sharp fangs, somewhat similar to the small ones belonging to Mickey, yet these looked strong enough to tear through a man's neck. Her tongue, twisting like a snake, grew in length, yet became thinner, soon equally reptilian in nature. Her eyes seemed to grow duller in color, until finally it became apparent that they were in fact turning yellow, then golden; the irises slit. Her hair had grown out, yet was now almost orange, like the fur that was growing on her body. Yet her fur was not only orange, but also black and white, like that of a tiger. Her legs, which had been motionless for a while, suddenly cracked and twisted, reshaping themselves into something unseen before. A mixture of a felines and a reptiles, these powerful legs were now able to support the mass of the compact, yet incredibly heavy creature they belonged too, no matter if she was on the ground or on the roof. Her feet and hands, were pads would be if she had been a tiger, were scaled like that of her pet gecko, and her fingers and too became flexible and slightly flatter, allowing her to grip anything, yet still retaining thumbs, another memorial from her human side.
She let out another bestial howl as slowly something was pushing itself out from under her heavy, milk-laden udder. A cock, what once had been her clit, swelled slowly with each heart-beat, slim and pointed like a felines, yet thick and long as that of a bull. A sheath formed above her cunny for the enormous organ, yet she barely felt any of the changes now. An urge, a sudden urge, had come over her. She needed to breed, to produce offspring. She roared, a sound never heard on the planet before, and tore at the padded walls around her, her newfound claws shredding the material with ease.
Then a glimmer of intelligence in her eyes, and Cathleen took control over the instincts. Yet, it was not Cathleen, but an amalgation, a complete balance between Cathleen the human and the new beast she had become. She felt the needs, she wanted the needs, yet she also knew who she was, what she would do. Standing up she was now close to eight feet tall, her entire body heavy, yet lithe as an athlete, her heavy breasts seeping creamy white milk, seemingly never endless.
She growled slowly, looking at the door, then the glass window, hearing the sound of footsteps outside. She stared at the door, then suddenly hunched over, letting out a scream-roar as something broke through her skin at the base of her spine, a tail, reptilian and thick as a man's arm, shot out, slithering and coiling itself as she saw the door slide open. She knew they couldn't stop her. That something HAD gone wrong. But for them, not for her. She would kill those who needed to be killed, free those who needed to be freed, and mate with those humans she deemed worthy. She would propagate a new species, and this place would make a perfect nest... Already she could smell the humans outside, a female somewhere that she could impregnate, a male that she could steal the seed from. The smell of her juices dripping from her cock and cunny were enough to drive her mad with lust, what would it do to those mere humans in her way...? So much to do, and so little time. Oh yes, she hated deadlines...
Well, this turned out longer than I expected!
This story is my part of a trade between myself and Von Krieger, with the only request being it starred a woman being turned into a hybrid hermie of human, gecko, tiger and cow. To be honest, I think I kind of botched the result, but overall I'm pretty pleased with the result... But enough self-loving.
Hope you who managed to read this enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. :)