The sixth floor had become quite a spectacle, filled to bursting with altered women in various states of undress. Carla and Wendy strolled amongst them, taking in the crying and cheering and even growling that swirled in the air. Some of the girls had begun exploring each other’s changes, at various levels of intimacy from cautious caresses to all-out sex.
“What the hell’s happening to us?” Wendy gasped, surprised at the huskiness in her voice.
“Don’t know,” Carla grinned, twirling around to face Wendy. “Don’t care. But I know what I want.” Her thick palms caressed the strands of auburn fur on her shoulders. She shuddered at the contact.
“Carla,” she moaned, before her roommate leaned forward and kissed her with lover’s passion.
As she drowned in passion, she heard one of the girls howl.
“Ready, Phillip?” Laura Tierney adjusted the earpiece as best she could; it didn’t seem to fit the new shape of her cartilage. Nothing of hers seemed to fit; her “power suit,” worn for every on-location broadcast she ever did, was constricting and confining. Her shoes felt tight and useless. Even her itching skin felt ready to burst.
“Still having trouble,” the young cameraman replied, snapping his gum. “Can’t get around this interference. It’s like there’s some kinda haze outside the college.” He ponytailed the long portion of his blond mullet and rotated the bill on his Linkin Park baseball cap backwards, his usual sign of frustration. He worked frantically inside the WOLF news van, trying to get any kind of signal through.
She sighed in aggravation. “They called you a prodigy. Were they wrong?”
“Hell, no! Anybody’d have trouble with this. Whatever this is, it’s not normal atmospheric interference. It’s like some thick-as-shit demon fog.” He continued to tap buttons and throw switches.
Laura nodded. “Agreed. Normal’s taking a backseat around here.” She lazily reached up to feel the contours and ridges of her pointed ears, brushing away the shaggier strands of black hair. A few locks had already lightened to a silvery gray. She traced the growth, losing it momentarily in the expanded fullness of her eyebrows.
Philip looked up from the van. “You sure you’re gonna make it? You’ve been getting worse ever since we came in here.”
The voice snapped her reverie, and she growled in anger. “We will not leave. This is my big scoop. I’m not giving it to anyone else.” Her sudden outburst frightened her, only slightly.
“Jesus, sorry for caring!” Philip shrugged and reached back for the camera. “I’ve jury-rigged a power boost from the cigarette lighter. It’ll give us enough power to broadcast through the haze for about six minutes.” He hefted the camera onto his shoulder. “Someone’ll have to give us a jump later, though.”
Laura nodded, adjusting her earpiece once more. She faded into herself as she brushed her furry sideburns, the quickly snapped out of it and gripped the microphone in her awkward hands. “Hit it.”
Philip nodded, and flipped the switch. He tossed her the thumbs up a moment later.
“This is Laura Tierney, reporting live from Fielder College in Dorset County. As you can see behind me, a strange astrological occurrence has taken place here. The full moon appeared in the overcast sky at approximately six P.M. today, a full two hours and seventeen days ahead of schedule. So far, local astronomers have no explanation for the anomaly, nor for the apparent lack of influence on tidal patterns or any other known effects of a disturbance in the lunar cycle.”
She took a deep breath. Gazing at the moon for that long was too much to take.
“Laura!” Philip hissed under his breath. He circled his fingers in a “keep going” gesture.
She snapped back to reality. “The only effect so far seems to be on the women of this campus. As you can see, I have also been affected by the unexplained powers at work here. My cameraman has felt no ill effects, nor has any other male in the area. Behind me is the main women’s dorm of the college, where almost all of the female students are now gathered. Currently, there is no word on their state, though none have ventured outside.”
She turned to indicate the row of campus police cars behind her. “Campus police have already cordoned off the area, and are awaiting assistance from local law enforcement. So far, no violence has broken out, though they are ready to contain anyone at a moment’s notice.” Philip tightened in on a shot of assembled officers, including two female officers leaning woozily against a cruiser. He returned the focus to Laura, who looked more distant every minute, and made a cutting motion across his throat, followed by raising his index finger in the air.
“We will be losing power soon, due to the strange atmospheric interference in the area. Rest assured, we will do our best to bring you…”
A howl broke her off in mid-sentence. Her attention, and the camera’s, turned to a window in the sixth floor, and a female figure silhouetted within.