Scaffolding
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Cameron's life had been a living hell ever since the day she had put on that costume.
It seemed like such an innocuous thing. Trying on a Halloween costume -- why was that the thing that had doomed her? What sense did that make in a rational world?
It was old, the owner of the costume store had told her. He had gotten it second-hand from another store. No one had worn it in who knew how long. He had newer costumes, ones that references pop culture, ones that looked like female clowns wearing cut-off shorts. Surely one of those would do?
But Cameron had insisted. Something about the wolf costume had seemed... pure. No gimmicks. And in spite of the costume's age, it was in remarkably good condition. It almost appeared to be made of real fur, though she was sure it was probably just some excellent imitation. So she had taken it to the changing room, stripped down, and tried it on.
And everything had changed.
She had known instantly that something was wrong. The inside of the costume had seemed... moist. That didn't make sense, unless the owner had just recently washed it and failed to let it air out properly.
But it had already been too late. The costume had started to creep up her body on its own. It had been quick and inexorable, resisting every panicked attempt to pull it off. By the time she had thought to scream, it had already covered her face.
The inside of the costume felt wet and slick -- more like flesh than fur. As it had covered her face, she had felt something soft, warm, and smooth force its way into her mouth, like an invasive kiss. It had pushed its way into her throat before settling there, forcing her mouth open and muffling any sound she tried to make. It hasn't left that position since then.
The costume had then marched her out of the store. She could feel it rippling around her skin, forcing her to move, to place one leg in front of the other like a rag doll being manipulated by a child. Cameron's attempts to fight it proved fruitless. It had gone to the register, paid for itself with money from her wallet, and left. It had found a hiding place and hidden itself away.
That had been four months ago.
At first, the thing's control over Cameron had seemed crude, heavy-handed. She would fight back, and sometimes even regain control, though never for long enough to tear off the costume. When it had control, its movements were awkward, almost falling with every step.
But over time, it learned more fine, more delicate control. It could make her walk in a way that seemed natural. It learned to speak in Cameron's voice, the inside of the costume flexing over Cameron's throat as it manipulated her vocal cords. It learned to massage the muscles of her face to control Cameron's eyes. It would look at itself in a mirror, and Cameron would see nothing but an anthro wolf -- not an uncommon sight in the city. No obvious visible evidence of the trapped girl screaming within.
The creature would eat, and thus force Cameron to eat, the appendage in her gullet forcing the chewed food down her throat. Other bodily functions were handled similarly. The creature took care of Cameron's body as if it were her own.
In fact, Cameron realized, the creature took care of Cameron's body better than she ever had. One of the first things it had done after refining its control was find itself a job so it could start buying healthier food (rather than beg for or steal food, as it had been doing.) It started exercising regularly, and before long, Cameron realized that her body was becoming more toned than it had ever been when under her control.
And then Cameron watched as it started stealing her life.
The creature went through Cameron's phone, examining the contacts and text messages to learn the identities of her friends. It started stalking them, finding where they lived and learning their schedules. At first, Cameron feared for her friends' safety -- was it someone going to do to them what it had done to her?
But instead, it started inserting itself into their lives. Finding situations or excuses to be in a place to "meet" them, at which point it did nothing more sinister than start to befriend them, striking up casual conversations in Cameron's voice.
Cameron hoped that they would notice, but no one did. The creature was too good at hiding it. On the rare occasions that Cameron managed to regain some control when her friends were nearby, the creature would simply excuse them as "fits" and pass it off as an ambiguous health issue.
The creature went to parties, told jokes, shared secrets. It wormed its way into Cameron's social circle with an expertise that almost felt... honest. What was the point of all this?
Cameron had to hold on to hope. She knew that an investigation had started looking in to her disappearance. Eventually, one of them would make the connection, wouldn't they?
Summer had started to come into full bloom when the creature asked Cameron's friend Lisa to meet her at a local park. Lisa and Cameron had never been particularly close -- or at least, not as close as she and the creature had become over the last few months. The pair had spent a lot of time together.
The creature carried Cameron there early, while the rising sun still worked at whisking the dew off the grass. It wore a pair of jeans and a cropped shirt over its fur.
"Anna?"
The name the creature had given itself. Cameron's instinct was to react to it the same way she would react to her own name, a name she hadn't been addressed by for months now.
Of course, it was the creature who reacted, not her, turning to wave at Lisa as she approached.
"Is everything okay?" The slender girl wore a sun dress and a wide-brimmed hat, and she had a purse slung over one shoulder.
"Yes," Anna responded, flexing Cameron's vocal cords. "Everything's fine."
Lisa put her hands on her hips. "It is not. I know you, Anna. Something's wrong. Your tail is droopy."
Anna laughed, a single "ha" that pushed the air from Cameron's lungs. "You know me so well. You're right. I have something I need to tell you. Something big. We should sit down."
Anna and Lisa walked to a park bench and sat. Anna reached out and took one of Lisa's hands, holding it both of Cameron's.
Where was the creature going with this?
"Lisa," Anna said. "I have something I have to tell you. It's a big secret, so please don't freak out and give me a chance to explain."
Lisa nodded, her expression focused. "Of course. We're friends, aren't we?"
Anna smiled. "Yes, we are." She took a deep breath, forcing air into Cameron's chest and expelling it slowly. "Lisa, do you remember that girl Cameron? The one who disappeared?"
Lisa nodded again. "Yes, I remember. They never did figure out what happened to her. They never even found a body."
"They never found a body because Cameron's body is inside me."
"Huh?"
Huh?
"I am... not what I appear to be, Lisa. I'm not human."
Lisa looked confused. "Well... of course you're not human. You're a wolf."
Anna shook her head. "I'm not even that. I'm a... I'm sort of a parasite. And Cameron is my host."
"I... I don't understand," Lisa said.
Cameron didn't understand, either. Why would the creature by telling Lisa this? Did it mean to kill her? If so, why not just kill her? Why reveal its secrets first, like a second-rate movie villain?
Hope fluttered in Cameron's chest. Lisa would know! She would know that Cameron was there. If she escaped, she could tell her other friends, and they could rescue her!
The creature proceeded to tell Lisa the whole story -- how it had sat in a dusty costume shop for years, unable to move on its own, waiting for someone to put it on. How Cameron had come in and been the unwitting person to do so. How the creature had taken control of her body and started to live a life of its own. How it had met with Cameron's friends, including Lisa herself, eventually leading to this conversation here.
"This... this is all crazy," Lisa said.
"I'll show you." And Anna put the fingers of one hand into her mouth, gripping her upper lip and pulling.
Cameron blinked, and realized that for the first time in what seemed like forever, she had blinked. Her face, her real face, was being exposed to the light for the first time in months.
Lisa leaned in close to look. "Oh... oh heavens..."
It lasted only a moment before the creature pulled its own face back into place. Cameron tried to scream, but of course, the thing in her throat muffled it.
"It... it's true," Lisa said.
"Yes."
"Why... why are you telling me this?"
Anna took another deep breath into Cameron's lungs. "Because the truth always comes out eventually. If I try to hide it, someone eventually figures it out."
"You've done this before?"
Anna nodded. "This is my fourth time."
"And... what about Cameron?"
"It's unfortunate," Anna said, "but in order for me to live -- someone else can't. Cameron is still here, and she's healthy and alive, but I'm in control. I had to do it; it had already been over a hundred years since my last host. Much longer, and I would have shriveled up and died."
There! You know now! Run away and call the police! Get help!
But Lisa didn't run away. She turned her face, looking down at the ground. "Have you told anyone else?"
What?
"Not yet. You're the first one."
"And Cameron is still alive?"
What!?
"Yes," Anna said, placing a hand over her stomach. "I'm taking very good care of her. As good as I can."
Lisa nodded, and she seemed to be thinking. Then she looked up at Cameron and smiled. "I think I understand."
WHAT!?
Anna let out a sigh of relief, reaching around Lisa with Cameron's arms and pulling her into a friendly hug. "Oh, thank goodness!" She said, and the relief in Cameron's voice sounded real. "I was so worried -- this had so much potential to turn into a 'torches and pitchforks' situation..."
Lisa hugged Cameron -- no, hugged Anna -- back. "I understand. This must have been so frightening for you. I can't believe you trusted me with this."
But what about Cameron? What about her!?
As if in response, Lisa said, "Cameron... can she hear me?"
Anna nodded.
"Cameron... I'm sorry," Lisa said. "I wish I could save you, too, but... I mean, if I did, then Anna would have to take someone else, right? I... I do feel bad for you, but that's nature, right? It's like if you had happened to be eaten by a predator or something. At least this way you're still alive and safe."
"I knew you would understand," Anna said.
And suddenly, Cameron understood, too.
This was its game -- this was the creature's strategy. It was right about secrets coming out -- if it had tried to keep Cameron a secret, eventually someone would have connected the dots. So instead it became friends with her friends. So that when it outed itself, Cameron's friends would now have to choose between a new friend and an old friend -- and of course they would choose the new one. Easier to just stick with the new status quo, rather than making the choice to hurt "Anna" to save Cameron.
Cameron screamed, she shouted, she bit down, but she had no more effect than making Anna shudder a bit before regaining control.
"I think Cameron understands too," Anna said. "At least as much as she can."
No! No, no, no, Cameron did not just "understand!"
"Of course, please don't tell anyone else yet," Anna said. "I'll figure out how to tell our other friends when they're ready."
Like a piece of glass struck with a hammer, Cameron felt that last holdout of hope in her chest shatter.
"Of course," Lisa responded. "It will just be between us girls." Her brow furrowed. "Um... are you actually a...?"
Anna laughed. "Technically, my species is hermaphroditic, but I usually identify as whatever gender my host is."
Lisa smiled. "Makes sense."
Anna stood up, letting out a long breath. "Thank you so much for understanding." She offered her hand to Lisa. "Want to come over to my place and play video games for a while? I've been tense all morning; I could use some unwinding."
Lisa nodded and smiled. "That sounds fun."
She took Anna's hand, and the two girls walked out of the park together.