Overgod
By Dan Stein

          Don Malenko stared at the creature, trying to understand what was going on around him. He wanted to turn and run, but was frozen by the thing’s stare. How he had come to this point, Malenko didn’t know. A moment before he had been sitting in his living room, watching the news and planning to soon join his wife, Cassie, in bed. The next moment he had been in this strange, featureless cellar, the beast perched in front of him, surveying him with an expectant eye.

          The creature was small, only the size of a housecat. It had seven limbs that all ended in a single digit, three on each side and one extending from its posterior like a tail. Its body was thin at the top and bottom, wide in the middle, almost making an oval. The body was covered with thick black and red hairs that moved with a life of their own. The head was a composite of human, insect, and lizard features. It had mandibles over a man-like mouth with thin scaly lips. Its seven eyes held two pupils each: one round, one slitted, both the color of dried blood. The creature’s nose ended in a downward spike that resembled a butterfly’s proboscis. It lacked ears or any other apparent means of sound perception. It was a horrific looking thing, but worse still was the sense of malice Malenko could feel coming from it. This thing had evil intent. Malenko wanted to scream in fear and revulsion.

          “Does it have our means for escape?” the thing spoke in a voice that hummed in several distinct pitches. The effect caused the voice to be at a constant discord with itself. It looked at Malenko, waiting for him to come up with an answer. His mind reeled, wondering how he was supposed to respond.

          Without making any effort to speak, he heard his voice answer. “It has found a suitable outlet.” He hadn’t even thought the words; they had simply come on their own. Malenko tried to look around for an exit back to the sane world he’d left in the living room. He found his eyes were not under his control either. His gaze remained fixed on the creature and its perch.

          “Does it behoove our glory, our return?” the creature said smugly. It scratched at the side of its mouth with one stubby finger.

          Again Malenko’s voice responded. “It does, Overgod.” Overgod? Was that what this thing was called? What was it? Why had it brought him here? Why couldn’t he move? These questions fought for prominence in Malenko’s mind, which was apparently the only thing still under his control. He couldn’t come up with any answers. The situation was too bizarre and his brain was overcome by panic.

          I must be dreaming, he thought. I must have fallen asleep in front of the TV. But if that was the case, why couldn’t he wake up? He focused his mind, trying to rouse himself, but it had no effect. That left him with only one logical conclusion. Impossible as it was, this was real. Somehow he had been taken over and transported to this bizarre, featureless cellar.

          “Shall we take it then, what has been offered?” said the Overgod. It smiled eerily.

          “Take it. Escape. Reign again as old,” Malenko’s voice responded.

          The Overgod nodded and began to climb down its perch toward Malenko. Malenko’s panic became unbearable. He thought he knew what the Overgod intended for him. It wanted to take possession of his body and escape this strange landscape. Oh God! he wanted to scream, but of course, nothing came.

          The Overgod reached the floor and skittered toward Malenko. No! he screamed in his head. No, you bastard! Stay the hell away from me! You can’t! But still the Overgod crept forward. A sudden thought forced its way into Malenko’s head. What will it do to Cassie? In his body the Overgod might do anything to his wife. The Overgod might even kill her and there was nothing Malenko could do about it.

          When the Overgod was within five feet of where Malenko stood, it suddenly leapt. It tore into Malenko’s chest with a burning sensation. Finally, with no warning or reason, Malenko was in control of his body again. He screamed at the top of his lungs and batted at his midsection. He thrashed wildly as the Overgod buried itself into him. He tried to pull it back out, but it only sunk deeper, displaying its incredible strength. What would happen to him? What would happen to Cassie? “No!” he screamed pointless denial.

          Quite suddenly Cassie’s voice came from behind him, “Don?! Are you okay?! What’s going on?”

          Malenko turned with the sudden realization that he was back in his living room. He checked his torso frantically. There were no marks, no signs that anything had dug into him. “A dream,” he said blurrily. Then, shaking the cobwebs from his head, he answered Cassie. “I must have fallen asleep. I was having a nightmare.” He laughed as relief washed over him. Just a damn dream, he thought. Man, it had seemed so real.

          “Come to bed, babe,” Cassie said, putting on a seductive look. “I’ve got something to make you feel better. Bet you don’t need three guesses to figure out what it is.”

          Malenko didn’t. He followed Cassie into their bedroom. Slowly they undressed. And the Overgod waited. Malenko kissed his wife. Still, the Overgod waited. They made love at first slowly and then building in pace as their passion drove the act onward. The Overgod bided. Malenko climaxed a second after Cassie did. It was the most intense sex Malenko had ever felt. His heart raced at unheard of speeds. The Overgod waited no longer.

          Suddenly Malenko’s lungs seized up and a great pain burst in his midsection. He looked down and saw that blood was coming from his navel. He wheezed, clutching for breath that would not come. Cassie was screaming, but Malenko couldn’t hear her; his eardrums had burst. His vision began to grow red, and he realized that blood was leaking into his eyes. It seemed to be coming from every pore now. Malenko reached one final time for Cassie, begging her to somehow explain what was happening, to somehow stop it. Failing to reach her, Don Malenko fell over, dead.

          The Overgod didn’t care about the effects its passing had had on its now dead vessel. It wasn’t important; not now. Now the Overgod simply had to wait a short nine months to be truly free. Until then it would allow an egg to serve as its new, very temporary prison. Nine months, a matter of seconds compared to the time it had spent in its old prison. The Overgod was pleased. Its reign would soon begin again.