Staring up at the brightly lit sign with a hint of trepidation, Michelle found herself wondering how she had let herself be talked into doing this. Even as bored as she was, a visit to a zoo comprised of literal monsters was hardly on her list of ideal attractions. Worse was the notion of volunteering there, possibly becoming one of the monsters on display. But, since her aunt, Emily, and her older cousin Iris worked there, and she had not seen them in ages, Michelle preferred to do whatever activity would allow her to spend time with them. If only they worked somewhere more mundane like a movie theater… 

Naturally, none of the creatures at the zoo were real, not when nanite technology could reshape one’s physical form into almost any form imaginable without repercussions to that person’s mind or body. Thus, the zoo employed its staff to take on the visages of various creatures daily to attract customers to see a variety of fictional beasts in real life. All of the monsters at the locale were based on fictional creatures in both lore and popular media. The only difference between them and regular nanite-changed people, Emily informed her niece, was that nanite-induced telepathy was prohibited, to hold up the illusion of being in the presence of the ‘creatures’ real to the guests. Though, with little experience in the nanite-transformation industry, Michelle found that she didn’t really get that last part. 

After some prompting, Michelle reluctantly agreed to volunteer there in the role of one of the monsters. It seemed absurd for her to do such a thing, at least at first. But, the more the other women talked about how much they loved the experience, the more Michelle found herself curious. It might even be fun to try out a different body, she found herself even thinking after a while. It wouldn’t be so scary to see the creatures if she was one herself, right? Plus, she would even be able to scare the guests a little herself, something that was encouraged with her position, Emily and Iris assured her.

Still, there was something a little nerve-wracking about not knowing what form she would be taking on for the day. Having been told that it would be based on scheduling and not something she could pick beforehand, Michelle found herself wanting to back out, worried that she might be assigned something gross or otherwise unappealing. But, with some further prompting, Michelle agreed to whatever position they needed her to take. Besides, Iris spoke so highly about the job and the various creatures that she had become over the last few months that Michelle found she would be remiss for not trying some of them out herself!

The staff there didn’t even inform Michelle what she would be becoming even after being handed the nanite program. Though, it was at the request of her mischievous cousin, who wanted to see Michelle’s reaction to an unknown form firsthand. Michelle was determined not to back down at this juncture, however, setting her mind to it as she signed in. Emily just gave her a sly grin when the other employee told her that she would be turning into ‘the usual’. 

Afterward, they were each given a nanite bodysuit to change into and taken into what was simply called the ‘changing room’. Looking down at the device in her hand, Michelle truly had no way to know what sort of form its information contained. 

Emily volunteered to go first to allow Michelle to see firsthand what the change entailed. “It’s not something that everyone gets to see, behind the scenes. Some visitors would kill for the chance!” Iris said with a little chuckle, though Michelle wasn’t sure if she should really feel that honored, given the circumstances. 

Not knowing what to expect, Michelle was understandably shocked when Emily’s eyes started to bulge out, sat on short stocks as several chelicerae burst from her jaw and the eyes themselves turned dark and segmented. Neck fattened, a hard, chitinous structure started to form over skin, black as though crisp. From her neck, two fattened lumps soon pushed out into a pair of protrusions with signature claws on the sides. They were able to click open and closed slightly, scaring Michelle as they were brought within a hair’s breadth of her face. Though she knew she was in no real danger, it was still a frightening prospect to be so close to such dangerous implements. Emily was using that to full effect, teasing her niece with the frightening prospect.

Next, a curved tail erupted from her backside, rising over the black expanse of segmented skin that her horrific form seemed to sport. Several legs erupted from her sides as her human legs and arms cracked and separated, prompting her down on her belly before they allowed her to skitter forward suddenly. Though her body was something out of a nightmare, the perspective, as well as the growing shapes made it difficult for Michelle to realize that her aunt was actually becoming something more mundane, albeit on a larger scale. She was well on her way of transformation into a giant scorpion!

“Hehe. Mom loves this shape! Weird, I know, to someone outside the zoo, I admit. But it’s one of her favorites, and she usually gets assigned it because she’s so good at creeping out the clientele!” Iris said by way of explanation. 

Even knowing that it was her aunt in that body, Michelle found it difficult to stifle the fear of being so close to such a creature. Emily was all showwoman, skittering around the vast room and clicking her chelicerae all the while. Striking forth with her massive abdomen, stinger at the end, she was truly a sight to behold, adept in the form as though she was born in it. 

Still determined to get a rise out of her niece, Emily suddenly bared down on Michelle, using her pincers and tail with deadly precision as though she was about to strike. Though Michelle knew better, the presence of such poisonous implements that close to her person made her shiver reflexively, almost to the point of eliciting a frightened squeak. “Mom! That’s enough! You’ve made your point, she’s scared!” Iris scolded, and Emily backed up a little tentatively, abashed at the display and her terrified niece. 

“Don’t worry, it won’t hurt you! It’s actually harmless, the nanites prevent any toxic effects from the venom, or even allow any deliberate aggressive actions against another being. It can run around all day and try to scare you, but that’s the worst it can do!” Iris explained though Michelle already knew that deep down. Still, being in the presence of such a beast, even a harmless one, was more than a little intimidating!

Something else came to the forefront of her thoughts, leaving Michelle momentarily confused. “Wait, you said it like three times, but you still called her ‘mom’? Is that normal?” She questioned, wondering about the disconnect between pronouns. 

“Oh, I didn’t realize! I guess I’ve just gotten used to calling most transformed persons ‘it’. Even mom! It’s easier to refer to them that way, especially in front of the guests, to really keep up the illusion and for the monsters to act the part!” Iris replied by way of explanation. “Besides, the nanite programs usually don’t assign a gender to most of these forms anyway. Not that they could reproduce, of course. But there are certain forms that would be a little embarrassing if their, ehm, assets were on display!” 

After that, Emily was allowed to skitter off to her usual enclosure, a place that she knew well enough to get there without assistance. Michelle was a little surprised that she didn’t stay around to watch the show. Still, she figured that her aunt had a shift and duties to attend to, even if it was supposed to be their time off to spend with Michelle. Turning into monsters was an odd way for a family reunion, indeed!

Not able to resist asking any further, Michelle turned to her cousin with a curious expression. “So…can you tell me now what I’m going to become? What you’re going to become?” She asked, not expecting a direct answer but not really willing to inject the nanites now. Especially if she was going to become anything like the monstrosity that had freaked her out not moments ago!

“Hmmm…let’s see…these are usually color-coded…let me see…OK, yeah, I know that one! Looks like they have you down to be a Cerberus! It’s an intermediate form, for sure, but it’s not that bad, once you get used to having all those heads!” Iris explained, leaving Michelle a little stunned. 

Honestly, she wasn’t really sure what to make of that one. She wasn’t really keen on changing at all, but the more she pondered it, the more that she found the notion curious rather than frightening. After all, what would it really be like to have three heads? It couldn’t be any worse than having a tail and eight legs, right?

“What about you?” Michelle thought to ask, wondering for a moment if she really wanted to know. Having not expected a scorpion, there really was anything on the table for her cousin to become. 

“Oh…um…Oh…shoot…not again! Umm…it’s called an infesting queen. It’s…not my favorite thing to be. Had to do it twice before. Not really a fan. But yeah. You’re really lucky! A Cerberus is a really fun one to be. Not just the heads, of course, those are fun to play around with. But you get big, powerful, and it’s great being a canine! You’ll love it, trust me!” Isis finished, taking a breath. 

“Did you want to go first?” Iris offered, Michelle feeling equal parts excitement and trepidation. 

Michelle went to place the injector on her arm but stopped for a moment, curious about something that Iris had said earlier. “Will I be an it? You know, without, um…an ‘it’?” Michelle asked awkwardly.

“Oh, that? No worries! You’ll be a she-wolf. I have to be an ‘it’,” Iris replied, with a little bit of a groan in her voice. Michelle wanted to inquire further but figured it prudent not to pry on what was obviously an unwelcome situation.

Before losing her nerve, Michelle decided to inject herself. Not really knowing what to expect, a sudden tingling started playing over the area. It quickly moved through her body, Michelle assuming it was the nanites flowing through her system. As it coursed its way through her, an itching started to play over the injection site as a series of brownish-gray fur quickly ran down her arm and over her chest. Wherever her skin prickled was soon followed by a swath of the hairs, until the skin was obscured. The nanite suit was soon swallowed up as the fur spread down her chest, ignoring her nipples as it raced down her belly. 

The tingling soon settled in her hands, where the fingers retracted before Michelle could even think to twitch them. Her nails pushed out into blunt claws as pads formed on the bottoms of her fingertips and palms, giving her a lovely set of paw pads. The same changes assaulted her feet, toes pulling inward and claws sprouting outward as pads adorned the toe tips and feet. Michelle almost toppled over as her heels stretched and made her pitch forward into a digitigrade stance. 

A sensation of compression crossed her chest as her shoulder blades flattened and pulled her arms forward. Her belly stretched as her breasts deflated, new nipples popping up along the sides of her chest. Figuring it was time to be down on all fours, Michelle lowered herself as her hips cracked painlessly into new shapes, her arms and legs stretched to suit her stance. Weirdest of all was the sensation of something poking out from her spine, a twitching appendage that signaled the development of a stubby tail. 

The muscle in her frame was growing all the while reshaping her form into that of a canine beast. She was much larger, her body expanding beyond the proportions of any dog or even wolf that she had ever seen. It was starting to match that of something akin to a bull, with her disproportionate human head still sitting atop it. That was soon to change as the veins in her neck bulged, the nanites forcing her neck to swell. It was larger than even her torso could support, though Michelle quickly realized that her neck would need to be three times the size for the three heads that she would soon possess. The prospect of gaining them was daunting, but it was too late to back out now if she was even inclined to. 

The sensations of change continued with her ears, as they expanded and stretched into points that started to twitch with their new abilities. She blinked a few times, her eyes watering as they turned a piercing gold, taking in the brightly lit room with greater clarity. Finally, her face started to press forward, jaws cracking as her skull sloped and her head took on a more lupine shape. Pointed fangs, a panting tongue, and a blackened nose comprised her muzzle as her face soon matched her bestial body. 

Wondering how the rest of the changes would continue, Michelle was not prepared for the tip of her snout to start tingling or for a slight tear to form as it began to peel down away from the sides. Michelle yelped, but her voice came out in a rather deep canine bark as the tear stretched down past her lips, parting teeth and gums all the way to her forehead. Part of her worried that the separation of her brain would be fatal, but such was not the way of the nanites, she recalled being told more than once. 

Still, it was powerfully disconcerting to feel her head peel down towards the neck, the split settling at the base as each half was pulled further apart, balanced on her wide shoulders. None of the organs, blood, or other fluids leaked from the sides, seemingly held there by some sort of invisible force that defied her understanding. It almost startled her when each side of the head started to grow its opposite, meat and muscle and even individual organs swelling from the inside of the splits to the point that it seemed like she really was growing two separate heads. New ears started to twitch, two separate nostrils sniffed the room eagerly, and two sets of eyes swept across the room in a wider view than had been possible, taking in her new form with almost a sense of reverence. The strangest thing of all was that she did not possess a second brain to process the new information. It was still her inside controlling both heads as skillfully as she had her singular one. 

It barely came as a shock as one of her heads started to split the same way, only now she could move the third to watch the process. Thinking that the sight of such a thing should have disturbed her, she was rather excited to view her second head peeling, not caring that she was watching internal organs on display before they filled in with their other halves and left her with three heads total, each the equal of their former parts. 

Eventually, the tinglings of change subsided, and Michelle realized that her form was finished. She tried growling with one head, and then another, and finally the third, creating a sound almost like backing vocals for the center head. Running around the room, the energy in her body needing an outlet, Michelle found herself elated with the form!

“Enjoying it, are we? Being the Cerberus is great, isn’t it?! You’re going to love scaring the guests!” Iris said, though with an annoyed look in her eyes before she injected herself with the nanites to begin her own change. 

Curious and eager to view the change from all three perspectives, Michelle looked over to see what was becoming of her cousin. Her surprise was visible on her canine features as Iris’s mouth opened impossibly wide and a tongue started to force its way out, thrashing as it gained thickness and mass. It maintained its fleshy color, though tapering and turning blue at the end, forming a deadly point. The process created a frightening visage indeed! 

It was soon to become much more disturbing as her growing maw soon expanded to encompass her eyes, her nose, and any remaining human features. Soon there was nothing left of her head as her mouth became the size of her former face, teeth pushed outward and bristled with motility in her gums. Several lumps pulsated from the circular parts of her head until each erupted with a series of sharpened blades, a monstrous appearance if there even was one. 

Michelle was not prepared for the sight of the creature that her cousin was becoming. It was far worse than simply the alien-looking head that Iris was sporting. The same scaly, slimy-looking skin spread down over her body, changing the texture of even the bodysuit to match. Her limbs were soon to wither and fade as they dissolved into the mass of curricular, uniform flesh that rapidly eroded her breasts, her belly, and any of the definition that her body once cherished. In fact, Michelle was rather certain that even her cousin’s bones and internal organs were being eroded, though it was impossible to say or even ask in their current states. 

Lastly, and before her legs could be eliminated completely, her spine, or what was left of it, started to poke through her backside. It twitched violently as its thickening contours touched the ground, pooling as the muscle within started to coil and lift up her body. With that, there was nothing remaining of her humanity, leaving some sort of vermiform monstrosity that put terror even in the woman-turned-Cerberus. 

Curious, Michelle padded closer to the creature, breathing in its earthy scent to determine what her nanite-influenced instincts thought of it. Iris, however, either under the influence of its own instincts or trying to scare its cousin, coiled up, twitching its tongue, and extended its stinger in a threatening display. It was enough to make even the massive Cerberus back up, not knowing how deadly or poisonous it was!

Before Michelle could reflect on it much further, their handlers came in to shoo them to their respective enclosures. Michelle followed them eagerly, wanting to make sure that she was in the right place before the zoo opened and guests came in to see the beast that she had become. Yet, she also wanted to see how Iris was reacting to the presence of the employees, without having eyes or anything of the sort. It seemed to have no trouble making its way as it was guided, much to Michelle’s curiosity and a little bit of disgust. 

To her surprise, the Cerberus enclosure was right next to the infesting queen enclosure, and Michelle was able to view her cousin burrow into the ground before disappearing from view. She could still smell the creature and wondered how large that underground space was to allow the infesting queen’s massive body to fit inside of it. Furthermore, how would it know when it was time to jump out and scare the guests? Michelle found herself happy that she was close enough that she would likely soon find out!

There was a small cave in the center of her own enclosure, and Michelle walked in, finding the accommodations rather comfortable for her canine body within. It was lined with fake flickering flames giving Michelle the impression that it was supposed to mimic the gates of hell, from which the vicious beast that Michelle had become could rise and strike. Much to her disappointment, she had been given a collar and chain to keep her held tight to the cave. Not that she could escape and harm people, but she supposed it would give the guests a sense of being on the edge of a beast that could render them lifeless in an instant. All for the illusion of fear, she reasoned. 

As the morning began and the zoo opened, Michelle found herself enjoying playing the part of the bloodthirsty Cerberus for the visitors. She would lie there, pretending to be asleep until she heard and smelled some people approaching. Then, she would leap up, growling and snarling and drooling, her bestial barks making more than one guest wet themselves in fright. When the guests were out of sight, she would resume her position as a sleeping beast, waiting to do it all over for the next crowd. Her favorite activity was to raise her center head, and growl at the guests before raising the other two to growl in sequence before leaping up to ‘threaten’ then, tugging on her chain all the while. Michelle loved it!

Yet. more interesting to her attention were the actions of her cousin. Guests would walk over to the enclosure, seeing nothing but the massive holes left by the beast inside. They would then read the diagram outside the cage, before a rumbling would shift their view in time to see the beast rise up out of the hole and tower over them, hissing and spitting and extending that venom-filled spike to the point of nearly piercing the bodies of her ‘victims’. Flexed teeth and an oozing, viscous substance like off-color slime were also employed as a tactic to invoke fear. It seemed enough that the unfortunate onlookers nearly thought their lives forfeit. Sometimes, it wouldn’t even exit its ‘lair’, making it all the more frightening for anyone to come by a second time and be terrified by a hidden beast they hadn’t expected. 

Michelle found herself wondering what sorts of senses such a creature possessed. She hadn’t been able to ask Iris, of course, since the usual nanite-telepathy was turned off for the duration of their tenure as monsters. Surely, the thing had no hidden eyes. It could perhaps smell but it was impossible to say given the outer anatomy that Michelle had witnessed. There was a chance it could hear, as well, but there was another possibility that had escaped Michelle’s realization until just now. Was it able to detect vibrations in the ground, like the footsteps of its prey? What would that be like to experience firsthand?

The more she reflected on it, the more Michelle found herself perplexed. How was Iris maintaining sanity in that body, with no eyes, no sight, and perhaps no senses that it could understand in human terms? Iris had seemed annoyed that it had to take such a form. But was there any aspect about the body that could be enjoyable, like the Cerberus form? She even found herself wondering if she would dare agree to take a form like that if she was ever assigned it. 

Eventually, the day was over and all of the employees were guided back towards the change rooms to be allowed to revert from their nanite programs. “How was your first day, hun?” Emily asked, a slightly worried expression on her face. Turning into a monster wasn’t for everyone, after all, even though the mother-daughter pair seemed to love it. 

“It was really fun! I’d be down to do it again!” Michelle responded with a little more enthusiasm than perhaps the pair had been expecting. It did make things easier to figure out what to suggest for the rest of the week, that being the case. 

“Man, I’m glad to have my eyes again!” Iris said, and Emily shot her a knowing look, obviously being aware of the form that Iris had been forced into. 

“And ears, and limbs, and bones…” Iris continued muttering. Emily gave a laugh at that. Though Emily hardly maintained human parts in her own form, the difference was that Emily obviously enjoyed the form that she had taken on. 

All through dinner and into the evening, Michelle couldn’t help but think about the infesting queen and what it would be like to have no eyes, no ears, nothing remotely remaining human in the form. It was a frightening prospect to be turned into something like that, she reasoned. Yet the more she reflected on it, the more she wondered if she could do it for herself. What if she was assigned such a creature? Could she say no? But then again, what if she said yes? What would it be like? And, as much as such a notion should have disgusted her, what if she actually wanted to be an infesting queen if the opportunity arose…?

******

The next morning, Michelle walked out into the changing area with her nanite suit on, to be given her assignment with her aunt and cousin. It was then that she finally decided to broach the question that had been bothering her since yesterday. There was no doubt that it would continue to plague her thoughts if she did not ask. 

“So, what’s it like to be the infesting queen? Is it really that bad? Must be kinda gross, right?” Michelle said, as though trying to steer the conversation in a direction that would dissuade her from doing anything stupid or gross. 

“Well, ok, it’s actually not that bad, once you get used to losing your arms, legs, bones, eyes, ears, and even smell,” was the reply.

“Isn’t that really scary? Wouldn’t being blind and deaf like, freak you the fuck out? How can you stand it?” Michelle inquired, confused as to Iris’s nonchalant attitude about the whole thing. 

“No no, it’s not really that bad. Kinda boring, actually. You can really only detect vibrations through the ground, which is a kind of hearing, I guess. But it’s super acute. When I turn into one, I can basically tell everything about everyone in the park. It’s kinda a sensory overload when you do it the first time, but I’ve gotten assigned the infesting queen a few times now, so I’m pretty used to it! Gotta do it again today! You get to be the Cerberus again today, lucky!” Iris exclaimed after looking at the injectors. 

“Ummm…well…actually…is it possible for us to swap assignments?” Michelle asked, quickly before she lost her nerve. “I mean, if you don’t want to…but I figured you would if it’s that boring…and, I…ehm, well…” Michelle finished, not really sure how to admit her curiosity and fascination with the whole affair. 

“Yeah! Sure! I mean, if you’re sure you want to. You don’t have to for my sake or anything. I don’t want you to think…if you’re really sure,” Iris said, seeing the conviction on her cousin’s expression. It was obvious that she didn’t really get the appeal of swapping out the Cerberus body for being…well, that. But she was willing to look past it if her cousin was. And it would be fun to hear someone else’s perspective on the form, her mom never actually having assumed it before. 

“I’ll go first again, K?” Iris offered, as though before giving Michelle a chance to back out. That was fine with her cousin, who was curious about seeing the Cerberus transformation from the other side of things. 

Unlike Michelle’s own transformation, this one started with Iris’s human head splitting down the middle, still not oozing any fluids though leaving the internal parts on display for a few brief moments before the heads both filled in. The right head split in the same way, each time with a grin on Iris’s features that unnerved her cousin. Soon, black fur spread over her form, as hands and feet became paws, jaws spread out into muzzles, and a tail wagged eagerly behind her. 

For a moment, Iris looked more like an eager puppy than the three-headed demonic beast that she was. However, that was not to last long as she looked down at Michelle, growling as drool fell from her lips. She then bared down on her cousin, standing over her with menacing growls resonating from each head in unison. It was enough to make Michelle want to run, that primal fear that came with being in clear and present danger. But, having just been the creature, it was easier to allow herself to stand her ground, with Iris eventually licking her with one head, then the other two at the same time, covering her with spit. The whole spectacle certainly gave Michelle some ideas for when it was her turn to change next into the Cerberus. 

Now it was time for Michelle to become the infesting queen, something that she had been waiting for with equal parts excitement and dread ever since she had seen her cousin change the day before. It was a terrifying prospect to become such a thing, but something that Michelle had to do to satisfy that curiosity. Before she lost her nerve, she injected herself, the Cerberus watching curiously with all three heads as the changes started. 

Much like Iris’s last change, Michelle’s transformation happened in the opposite direction to what she had been expecting. It started over her torso, her skin covered with some hard substance more sensitive than her human skin could never hope to match. The truck-like form soon removed all the contours of her human torso, making her wince as her organs, tissues, and even bones were dissolved to make up the simplistic circulatory systems of the beast she was becoming. 

Balance on her growing tail was difficult as her legs started to dissolve, making her twitch her toes to try and keep them functional before they inevitably dissolved into nothing. In similar fashion, her hands started to fade away, melting into the truck before she was left with only that gargantuan tail that was stretching ever longer. It was bizarre having phantom twinges of where her limbs should have been, yet nothing moved no matter how much she prompted it to. It was like she’d never had arms or legs in the first place, and the sensation almost left her reeling beyond what the rest of the changes could manage!

The bizarre changes were not to stop there, however. Every bit of her humanity was being robbed by the creature she was becoming, so much so that there was little of herself left in the form, unlike the Cerberus. Even her femininity was stripped from her, making Michelle ponder about the reality that ‘she’ was now an ‘it’. Michelle decided that it would refer to itself with those pronouns now, as part of the experience of being the infesting queen.

With only its human face left, Michelle wanted to scream as its tongue was forced out of its mouth, the tip turning hard and thickening into a deadly point that made it disgusted. Its tongue was larger than its face at this point, though that was soon to change as its mouth widened, encompassing the rest of its face. Michelle could feel its eyes closing, scared as the world around it went dark. Its nose and ears, too, lost their abilities as its jaw continued to extend, only the sensations of teeth bursting from several rows along the circumference of its ever-widening jaw.

Yet, soon, Michelle was aware of another sense, one that had evaded it during the horrific process of change. Its thick skin was surprisingly sensitive, millions of nerves seeming to react to minute vibrations in the air. Although it couldn’t see, couldn’t hear, it could tell the location, the size, and shape of everything around it simply by those vibrations. It was almost like having a visual map to the world around it, fascinating in its own right!

It was then that Michelle realized that the changes were done, the tingling of the nanite’s work having faded. It was bizarre to explore being in the body that had it so enamored. Its excitement was ten-fold it thought it would be, despite the alien nature of the form. It experimented with taking its long body and coiling it together, then uncoiling to see how fast it could do so. It flexed its rows of teeth, feeling them pulling in on themselves and loving the range of motion they seemed to possess. It could almost move the rows independently! Strangest of all was the tongue, more flexible with muscle than the rest of its body. It could reach back to be used as a spear, flailed around in the air, contract, and expand with dead efficiency, a potent weapon in its own right!

Michelle was still aware when it was time for the employees to guide it to its enclosure. Michelle found itself wondering how it was to floor the directions with no way to perceive the outside world. Yet, there was something in the ground, some semblance of familiarity that made it certain it was heading in the right direction. Moving in opposition to the other staff was one indication. But there was also a vibrational sense that seemed to emanate from where it perceived its habitat to be. 

There was something unnerving about being out in the open, the air harder to detect vibrations from than the ground underneath its body. Though it was fearsome, Michelle wanted to be underground, rising only to attack prey and to scare potential threats away. The instincts that the nanites provided were more potent than those from the Cerberus, Michelle was quick to understand. But it wasn’t too bad, all things considered. 

Settling down underground in its enclosure, Michelle found it could easily dig with that massive maw, churning through the earth like a fish in water. Only the harder ground around the habitat prevented Michelle from digging all the way around the zoo, making tunnels, and scaring guests from any location. Thankfully, its instincts were sufficient that it knew where its tunnels were and there was no chance that it would accidentally break part of its home and injure itself or ruin the habitat. 

Though there was little to do until a guest came to examine its enclosure, Michelle found excitement in exploring the vibrations of the entire complex. It was aware of every beast, their size and shapes detectable by its senses from over a mile away. It became a game of sorts to try and determine what the beasts were, some from its perception, and some from its memories of what its cousin had described about the various species that were used. 

Then, it happened, a series of human-shaped vibrations that denoted the presence of several guests above. With several avenues to explore, Michelle found itself wondering how it would go about scaring the guests. It had the ability to rise from the ground either silently or make the ground rumble with its presence. With that in mind, Michelle decided its first attempt would be silent, to really give the guest the fight of their lives. Michelle only found itself wishing that it could see the looks on their faces as it lept in the air, towering over the humans and salivating over them, using Iris’s earlier display as a guideline. Though it couldn’t hear their sounds of disgust, the powerful vibrations were enough to allow Michelle to know that there was a very real quivering of fear from its victims. It was absolutely elating to scare guests as this beast and observe their reactions in such an inhuman way!

Michelle figured that it would get boring to lie underground without any senses, much as Iris had described it. But it was absolutely fascinating to be able to tell where the guests, its potential victims lay, which ones would come close and which ones were being scared by the other inhabitants. There were a variety of ways that it could conceive to scare victims, from waiting till the last second to making the ground rumble with its presence to even lying in wait and not jumping up to scare the guests, making some come back for the scare that it would eventually give them. Even just rocking the ground from underneath and never appearing seemed to bring about the desired reaction! 

Eventually, Michelle knew that it was soon time for the staff to come and get it, to allow it to change back. And it wanted to, really, missing its human assets. Yet, there was something it would miss about the omnipresent awareness from being the creature, its tremor sense more acute than anything its former humanity could hope to muster. Michelle would never have thought of loving being such a creature before today. There was something entrancing about the form, making it wish for a longer stay. But since Michelle would be spending the rest of the week with family, there was plenty of time to resume this form or one of the many others that were showcased at the monster transformation zoo…