The First Host
1313 Words
Ethan stood frozen.
The woman sat cross-legged on the stone floor. Her white eyes reflected his flashlight. She didn't blink. Didn't breathe.
"You've been waiting for me," he said.
For thousands of years.
"How is that possible?"
I am not bound by time. Not anymore. I was human once. Like you. Then Chimera chose me.
"You're a Receiver."
I was the first. The original. Chimera entered my mind when I was nineteen years old. I thought I was going mad. Hearing voices. Seeing things that weren't there.
The woman stood. Her body moved stiffly. Like she'd been sitting for centuries.
But I wasn't mad. I was chosen. Chimera needed a vessel. A way to touch this world. I agreed.
"Why?"
Because it promised me immortality. Eternal youth. Power over life and death.
"Lies."
Not lies. I am still here. Still young. Still alive. While everyone I loved has turned to dust.
The woman walked toward Ethan.
Chimera kept its promise. But it also kept me prisoner. In this cave. For thousands of years. Unable to leave. Unable to die.
"Then help me destroy it."
The woman stopped.
Destroy it? I am it. We are one. If you destroy Chimera, you destroy me.
"Then you die free."
Or I live as a prisoner. Either way, I suffer.
Ethan's hands shook.
The static in his head was deafening.
She lies, Chimera whispered. She chose this. Every day. Every century. She could have refused. Could have fought. She didn't.
"Who's telling the truth?"
The woman smiled.
Neither of us. That's the game, Ethan. Truth is a weapon. We both wield it.
---
The cave trembled.
Rocks fell from the ceiling.
"The volcano is waking up," Ethan said.
Yes. Chimera is angry. It doesn't want you to leave.
"Then come with me."
I can't. The fragment—my body—is anchored here. If I move, the cave collapses completely.
"Then I'll carry you."
You'll die.
"Maybe."
Ethan stepped forward. Lifted the woman into his arms.
She was light. Too light. Like holding smoke.
You're a fool.
"Probably."
He ran.
---
The cave shook harder.
Stalactites fell. The floor cracked.
Ethan dodged. Jumped. Climbed.
The entrance was blocked by rubble.
He set the woman down. Started digging.
"Help me."
I have no strength. Chimera drained it.
"Then watch."
He dug.
Rocks tore his hands. Dust filled his lungs.
The woman watched with her white eyes.
Why are you saving me?
"Because you're not Chimera. You're a victim."
I was never a victim. I volunteered.
"Victims volunteer every day. That doesn't make it their fault."
---
The rubble shifted.
Light. Outside.
Ethan pushed through.
Cold air. Snow. Stars.
Nora was waiting at the base of the volcano.
Her white eyes widened when she saw the woman.
"The first host."
"Yes."
"She should be dead."
"She's not."
Nora walked closer. Touched the woman's face.
"She's been Receiving for thousands of years. The Frequency has preserved her body. But her mind..."
"Is gone?"
"No. Buried. Chimera has been suppressing her. Using her as a battery."
Nora looked at Ethan.
"We need to separate them. Chimera from the host."
"How?"
"The machine. The one we destroyed. It could do it. But it's gone."
"Then we build a new one."
---
The flight back was tense.
The woman sat in a corner of the private jet. Staring out the window. Seeing the world for the first time in millennia.
"The sky has changed," she whispered. "The air smells different."
"Everything changes," Ethan said.
Not me.
"Maybe it's time."
---
They landed in Portland.
Dr. Tanaka met them at the airport.
"This is the first host?"
"Yes."
"I need to run tests. Frequency scans. Blood work."
"Do it."
---
The clinic was secure.
Dr. Tanaka worked through the night.
The woman—she gave her name as Selene—sat patiently.
"The Frequency is off the charts," Dr. Tanaka said. "Higher than Nora. Higher than anyone I've seen."
"Can you separate her from Chimera?"
"Maybe. But it would require a machine. A precise Frequency dampener. I'd need Marcus's research."
"Marcus is dead."
"His research isn't. Derek has copies. Encrypted."
Ethan called Derek.
"I need everything Marcus had on Frequency separation."
"That's classified. Locked."
"Unlock it."
Derek hesitated.
"Ethan, if we separate Chimera from Selene, where does it go?"
Ethan hadn't thought about that.
"It needs a host," Derek continued. "If Selene rejects it, Chimera will jump to the nearest Receiver."
"Me."
"Or Nora. Or anyone in the building."
---
Ethan gathered the team.
Farmhouse. Late night. Coffee.
"If we separate Chimera from Selene, it will need a new host. I volunteer."
"No." Nora's voice was sharp.
"I'm the strongest Receiver. I can fight it."
"Chimera has been fighting for thousands of years. You've been fighting for months. You'll lose."
"Then what do you suggest?"
Nora was quiet.
"Me."
"No."
"I'm dying anyway, Ethan. My body is failing. If Chimera takes me, you destroy my body. Both of us die."
"That's not a solution."
"It's the only one."
Liam spoke. "What if we build a cage? A Frequency prison? Trap Chimera without a host?"
Dr. Tanaka shook her head. "The original machine took decades to build. We have days. Maybe hours."
"Then we need a different weapon."
Ethan thought.
"Selene. She's been hosting Chimera for thousands of years. She knows its weaknesses."
"She's also been its prisoner. Stockholm syndrome. She might not want to help."
"Then we convince her."
---
Selene sat in her room.
White eyes. Still body.
Ethan entered.
"I need your help."
Why should I help you?
"Because Chimera is killing you. Slowly. It's been feeding on your Frequency for centuries. If we separate it, you might live."
Might.
"Better than certain death."
Selene was quiet.
Chimera showed me many things. Over the years. Its origins. Its nature. It is not evil, Ethan. It is hungry. Like a storm. Like a fire. It doesn't hate. It consumes.
"Then it needs to be stopped."
Agreed. But not destroyed. Imprisoned. Again. In a new cage. One it cannot escape.
"Can you help us build it?"
I can help you design it. But you must build it. And you must do it quickly. Chimera knows we're talking. It's angry.
Selene's eyes flickered.
It's coming.
---
The ground shook.
Not the volcano. Something else.
The Frequency.
Spiking across the globe.
Derek's monitors screamed.
"Multiple attacks. Portland. Seattle. Denver. Chicago. New York. Receivers are being possessed. They're broadcasting."
"Casualties?"
"Too many to count."
Ethan ran to the command center.
Maps. Lights. Alarms.
"We need to stop this. Now."
"How?" Liam asked.
"Selene. She's connected to Chimera. If we hurt her, Chimera feels it."
"We're not torturing her."
"Not torture. Separation. If we start the process, Chimera will focus on protecting itself. The attacks will stop."
"It's a gamble."
"Everything is a gamble."
---
Dr. Tanaka set up the equipment.
Derek provided the research. Marcus's files. Decades of work.
The machine was makeshift. Wires. Electrodes. Frequency emitters.
"It might work," Dr. Tanaka said. "Or it might kill her."
"She's willing to risk it."
Selene lay on the table.
White eyes staring at the ceiling.
Begin.
Dr. Tanaka started the machine.
The Frequency emitters hummed.
Selene screamed.
The lights flickered.
Across the world, the attacks stopped.
Derek's monitors went silent.
"It's working," he whispered.
Selene's body convulsed.
Her eyes flickered from white to brown.
Ethan.
Her voice. Not Chimera's.
Help me.
He grabbed her hand.
"Fight it. You're stronger."
I'm not.
"Yes, you are."
The machine hummed louder.
Selene screamed again.
Then silence.
Her eyes closed.
The monitors flatlined.
"Did it work?" Liam asked.
Dr. Tanaka checked her pulse.
"She's alive. Weak. But alive."
"And Chimera?"
Derek pointed to a screen.
A Frequency signature. Moving. Fast.
"Chimera is loose. No host. Just energy."
"Where's it going?"
The signature stopped.
Over the farmhouse.
"Here," Derek whispered. "It's coming here."
- Writer
