Internal Review
CW: Suicide (Not due to mental illness), Self-Immolation, Gore, Violence, Parasites, Food Safety Issues
Description:
Agents are sent to investigate a string of bizarre and extreme apparent suicides in the small town of Siloam Springs, Arkansas.
Overview:
A small nest of alien parasites riding on a meteorite crash landed near a creek in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. These parasites entered a brisket smoking at a house that bordered the creek, and from there, entered the bodies of the small group of PTA members gathered there for a get-together. The alien slowly subsumes and replace its hosts’ bodies from the inside until they completely replace all internal organs and take over the body.
Debrief:
Three deaths have rocked the town of Siloam Springs, Arkansas:
- Dakota Fanning - Stuck a gas pump down her throat and then lit herself on fire.
- Chandler Millsby - Threw himself into tractor blades.
- Clipton Eshel - Blew himself up with an I.E.D.
During the autopsies, large amounts of anomalous tissue was found mixed in with what remained of the bodies.
The only thing apparently linking all three was that they were members of the PTA at the Delbert Pete & Pat Allen Elementary School.
Agents are to:
- Determine if there are any unnatural reasons for the deaths.
- Remove any unnatural vectors present.
The Autopsies
The official cause of death for all three bodies is suicide, and there isn’t much material left. Local law enforcement aren’t going to pursue it further, and agents will need to seek out the records/access in order to get more information. Mixed in with the limited human remains is unknown biological tissue. Further research will reveal that it exhibits traits similar to both muscle tissue and neurons, with a distributed neural system and an adaptability similar to stem cells.
The Parasite:
The parasite starts its life cycle as a small white grub, roughly the size of a grain of rice, which scientific analysis will show is not anything known on earth. Once ingested, the parasite starts to grow inside the person, absorbing all of the internal organs, working all directions away from the intestines. The parasite will replicate the absorbed organs’ functions, so that the body doesn’t fail. The brain is the last organ to be replaced, and once that happens, the parasite will crudely imitating a person, but slowly improve in dexterity and intelligence over time. Once they’ve fully replaced a person, they will begin to lay batches of eggs in viable locations and try to spread the parasites as widely as possible, targeting mostly humans, but will target animals as well.
The parasite is mostly composed of neuro-muscular tissue. It can move unnaturally quickly and dexterously, plus it has a distributed nervous system, allowing it to live through a large amount of trauma. The parasite will kill the host if removed due to the host’s lack of internal organs, and will attempt to burrow into a new host. The parasite has decent control of its epidermis, and can form it into many different kinds of biological appendage (e.g. hands, mouths, eyes, claws). From outside the body, the parasite can occasionally be seen shifting under the skin, and will feel like a firm mass under the skin, as if there’s no give. The host will feel pain and movement under their skin at the site of progress. Once the parasite has begun to absorb its hosts organs, it will begin to appear like a large amorphous blob of muscle. However, it can shift its shape, and create extremities on itself quickly, so that appearance will quicjly change once viewed by agents.
If a biopsy is performed, the host will almost certainly die, and the parasite will attack those performing the biopsy.
The PTA:
Most of the PTA is unaware of the parasite, those that do know are a group composed of most of the current administration of the PTA, which were unwittingly exposed to the parasites after they landed near a creek behind Jeremy Stevens house. The parasites then made their way into the smoker this group was using during a cookout, and then into all of those who ate the meat. There is still a small amount of parasites by the creek behind Jeremy Stevens house.
There will be a regularly scheduled PTA meeting the day the agents arrive in the town, all infected members except for Sharon Ndhlovu will be present at the meeting.
Members
Dakota Fanning (President) - DECEASED
Jeremy Stevens (Vice President) - Pretends nothing is wrong, and will actively go out of his way to keep the others who are infected from spilling the truth to agents. Divorced, ex and child are not affected by parasites.
Chandler Millsby (Historian) - DECEASED
Mellie Harris (Treasurer) - Went to a doctor early, and believes this is just a normal parasite. She is taking anti-parasitic medication to no effect. Not worried in the slightest and if asked will inform the agents she has everything under control. Explains the other infected member’s fears as ‘uneducated terror.’
Sharon Ndhlovu (Secretary) - Terrified of the parasite and will try to inform the agents once she knows that they are looking into the issue, but Stevens will be keeping a constant eye on her. Will volunteer for biopsy, or anything to help her out if given the chance. The parasite is too advanced and if a biopsy is performed, it will leap out of her body and attack the agents.
Megan Parker(Member) - Living in denial and just thinks this is a weird health issue, but nothing to worry about, will be belligerent with agents asking about her health. Thinks other members of the PTA are experiencing mass hysteria.
Cameron Sorrells (Member) - TAKEN OVER BY PARASITE THE DAY AFTER THE INVESTIGATION STARTS. Wanders around the town and will be hostile if confronted exhibiting the intelligence of a dog.
Clipton Eshel (Member) - DECEASED
Possible Solutions:
Solutions may include, but are not limited to:
- Kill all those infected by the parasites and destroy the first nest (as well as any potential nests created by those fully taken over): 1d2 SAN/Victim Killed + 1d4 SAN / Nest Destroyed
- Quarantine the town and exterminate nests + ‘treat’ infected individuals: 1d6 San + 1 / Infected
- 1d4 for every grown parasite killed.
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Stats:
Parasite out of body:
Str: 20 Con: 16 Dex: Int: 6 Pow: 9 Cha: 2
HP: 18 WP: 9
Armor: 2 (thick skin)
Attacks: Claw - 50% (1d4), Grapple- 60% (See BURROW)
Adaptable: Can create and morph its extremities to fit its environment, takes a turn to become completely adapted to a new environment.
Burrow: If grappling a biological creature, will attempt to burrow inside the creature to use it as a host, make a strength contest. Lethality 30%
Unformed: Due to the amorphous nature of this entity, and it's highly adaptable cell structure, this entity takes half damage from all attacks aside from fire, acid, and hypergeometry.
Unnatural Biology: Called shots don't do extra damage.
SAN 1D4/1D10
Credits
Internal Affairs was written by AdvanceWarsSami for the 2024 Shotgun Scenario contest.
Source: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Xt021caiMqkv0EKdhZuDbuBY0kaigiVKKdgXRRK2NYI/edit