Plagued Passion

1: Justice Soup

 A/N: Hiiii so this story is an AU (alternate universe) so obviously nothing about it true at all!!! Its about aliens!!!! i love aliens!!!!!!!! thanks for reading!!!!!!!

(PS This story takes place in 2070.)

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Mondays were the menstrual cramps of the week. They would sneak up on you out of nowhere, leaving you with underwear caked with red velvet cake filling and occasionally an insatiable desire for rice pudding. Although Riley was one of the blessed, born without a uterus or certain hole required for the expulsion of crimson secretions, he was pretty sure he understands. Thankfully, though, Riley was retired. Retirement was the equivalent of menopause, only swapping heat flashes for an emergent appreciation for baseball and impracticable crossword puzzles. So when he woke up on that infamous Monday morning, he leaned over and smiled, enjoying his cramp- and work-free day already.

The sun rose over the couple, two frail, wrinkly bodies intertwined beneath the crisp white sheets. The man's grey hair was flecked with brown to complement his blue eyes, which trailed over to his sleeping wife. He quietly kissed her cheek.

“Julissa,” he whispered. “Good morning, dear.”

The woman stirred, drool cascading down her protruding jaw. As a girl, she was so ordinary, boring to the point of beautiful. Despite her freakishly massive legs compared to her slight body, she was sweet, carrying with her a certain innocence that could capture the hearts of every idiot whose path she crossed. Idiots and her husband, of course. Over the years, her huge legs only grew larger and hairier. In fact, everything about her grew larger and hairierto the point she looked more like a deranged dog than a human. Her husband thought nothing of it, though. To him, she was always gorgeous.

“Riley...” she rubbed her eyes. “Hi!” The way the sunlight caught her fuzzy jaw took his breath away. The curtain across the room billowed in the wind as a slight breeze swept towards the room, lifting the brown and grey tips of his hair. Julissa's smoke-coloured hair was too greasy to move, and stayed plastered to her head like a helmet, but her lengthy eyebrow hairs shifted to give Riley a better look at her round, beady little eyes.

“You're so beautiful,” he said. Julissa looked uncomfortable. Even after fifty-four years of marriage, it still made her feel nervous being complimented by her husband. Why? She had no idea. She thought she was beautiful. In fact, she knew she was stunning, especially with her sharp nails that she so much enjoyed using to scratch pictures of cats and freaky dogs into the kitchen counter. But deep inside, there was one part of her she knew was not beautiful at all. A part of her that grew more powerful by the day and that she must keep hidden at all costs.

“Let's get up!” she hollered, jumping out of bed so fast Riley feared she would break a hip. He followed behind, shaking his head as his wife hobbled on all fours towards the kitchen, claiming once again that her back hurt.

After a quick breakfast, the doorbell rang. Their only daughter, Julissa Junior, nicknamed JJ, stood at their doorstep along with their sole granddaughter, Angelique.

“Hey, Dad,” JJ said, fixing her brown hair pulled back into a strict bun. Beneath the hem of her top, Riley could just barely make out the tips of the fingers of her extra hand hanging off of her limp third arm, something kept secret from all but her parents and husband. Her life was always a struggle. As a child, she would get into fights everyday. Her schoolwork was completely incomprehensible, mostly scribbles that she couldn't even manage to keep along the blue lines striping the page. She dropped out of school at sixteen, only having reached the level of education of the average seven year old. Julissa Junior became pregnant six years later, marrying the father of her child only after a month of courting.

Riley and Julissa took Angelique everyday, since the young girl still hadn't started school yet, and they did not trust JJ to keep a child. After Angie kissed her mother goodbye, Julissa took her hand, leading her into the kitchen for a snack. Riley prepared for his daily walk. It looked especially nice out that day, and the weatherman called for a violent storm, so he wanted to enjoy the pleasant sunshine while he still could.

The scent of flowers wafted through his old man nostrils as he marched down the sidewalk, examining the blue sky blanketing the busy city. Children ran by him holding hands, dodging his cane. He whistled to himself. Ever since Julissa broke his curse, the world was perfect.

He should have realized that wasn't true.

He waltzed up his front steps as he returned home, tipping his hat to his neighbour who was outside clipping the bright flowers in the boxes suspended beneath the windows. Riley breathed in the warm air before, pushing open the door.

The sight he found trapped the oxygen in his lungs.

Julissa dangled the child above the pot of boiling water by her toes, the little girl's braids already submerged, her head growing closer to the steaming bubbles. The toddler's eyes were wide, sweat pouring down her face. As Julissa turned to look at him, what he saw in her eyes was not his wife. He couldn't even call it human. This thing in his kitchen was nothing he'd ever seen before.

It was a monster.

“No!” he screamed. He dove towards the Thing and his granddaughter right as the top of her head touched the surface, drawing a pained shriek from the child. The pot fell from the stove as he wrapped his arms around the girl, agonizing wetness seeping through his clothing. Angelique had boils along her hairline, gleaming red and a thousand degrees in his arms. The water from the large pot flooded the kitchen floor, washing over the Thing's feet. What used to be Julissa snarled, releasing a horrid screech that shattered the windows along the front of the house, smashing sounding from within the cupboards.

Angelique was bawling into his shoulder. He crouched on the ground, supporting her head to his firm chest. He caught sight of the phone on the table as the Thing crumpled into the ground, breathing rapidly in the puddle of steaming water. Clutching little Angie tight, he snatched it and ran, determined to get away from whatever this was that was trying to eat his granddaughter.

“That thing is your wife,” a little voice in his head pointed out.

He ignored it.

TBC!!!