Bodyy Balm - Prologue

Few companies had seen such a relatively rise combined with such a dramatic fall as that of Body Balm. The cosmetic start up that had so hastily released its first, and only, product that they had failed to perform any sort of long=term testing. The aftermath led to a pull of the product from shelves, the stuff being deemed as too dangerous if it were to fall into the wrong hands.

Bodyy Balm had started simply by selling a single product, their patented ointment that was also their namesake. Through their too secret formula they claimed to be able to rejuvenate and revivify not just your skin but your whole body as well.

While most cosmetics make outrageous claims like those of Bodyy Balm, these seemed to actually work. Early adopters found their skin softening and the joints loosening after merely only a single application, though the effects seemed to be relatively short lived.

People rushed to the few outlets even sticking the stuff, the relatively small brand having not expected to sell out so quickly. Soon more and more were being sent out to stores, the formula being adapted to speed up the manufacturing process.

People couldn't get enough of the stuff, applying some every day as the bags under their eyes tightened away and they found themselves ever more flexible. However, these good times didn't last for long.

News started coming out of odd side effects of the products usage, rumors regarding using 'excess amounts' on certain body parts. It was discovered by some odd people that a large amount of the balm applied at once would leave the flesh in that area malleable and worrying soft to the touch, allowing it to be molded and shaped as they desire.

While some were able to make this work, making changes with a light touch, others became horror shows as their hands melted into whatever they were attempting to touch up. Despite this the company managed to keep the bad press at bay, reminding everyone to simply follow the instructions on the container.

Next came signs of worrying long-term effects on those who used the product. The more they used of it the more they required to get the same effect as normal. At the same time those who were effect were starting to notice all manner of ailments from sagging skin to difficulty holding themselves upright. This quickly snowballed, leaving many regular uses in the same state as those who had been using the balm improperly. Again, the company deflected with claims of common sense and to always follow the instructions.

While all this was all happen the 'Laundry Incident' occurred, an event that would truely start the downwards spiral.

One poor woman accidentally left her balm in her jacket pocket while doing the laundry, accidentally coating her clothes in the stuff. While she had tried to wash it all out it appeared the secret ingredient was harder to remove than she had thought. Within the hour she looked more youthful and vibrant, able to perform the splits with ease and even contort into all manner of shapes. However, soon her skin draped from her like an ill-fitting suit, her bones turning to jelly as she took on more and more of the balm into her system through most of her body.

She did recover, in a matter of speaking, after all that, her friends finding her a remarkably soft mewling and weeping pile of skin in the floor of her room.

Once the story broke others began to use the trick to punish or prank, the balm just needing to be in long enough contact over a wide enough area to have the desired effect.

The horrific trend came to a head when one such prankster interacted with the victim. They were found to be all manner of flexible and moldable, taking on impossible shapes. However, things became more tense when a large donation came in for him to wear the whimpering oozing shell of his probably soon to ex-girlfriend.

At first it had just looked like some constantly stretching flesh-colored putty as he stretched the mouth wide and climbed inside. The mass of flesh around him pulsed and whimpered as it seemed to try to climb over the streamer, craving something of the firm body clambering inside. As he pulled his head inside the jaw it snapped shut like a vice, the screams of the young man becoming muffled before turning into a feminine squeal.

The fleshy mass twisted and warped around him, pressing its balm soaked self and molding the man inside. After a minute or two of struggle the naked young woman who had been so cruelly 'pranked' stood where the young man once had been. The face twitched and shifted, as though it was trying to pull away, as a muffled whimpering and near-silent cries for help blubbered from the gapping mouth. Suddenly the twisting stopped as the woman screamed in shock, her body language and speach patterns mirroring the man she had seemingly devoured.

So occured the first 'Suiting' the practice that finally put the last nail in Bodyy Balms coffin. Across the world people started to simply 'disappear' while those around them started acting strangely or out of character.

The sodden bodies of those effected, while unable to spread their ailment, could mold via touch. So desperate for form, so needy to be whole again, they would simply squeeze an intruder into the right shape temporarily. The living skin, while appearing whole, is nothing more than a mewling husk however, unable to speak even loud enough for most other people even if it is dead quiet. The person inside is left with full control, even stealing the poor person's voice while on the inside.

Organs would shift, flattening and growing shrunken and pinned inside the wearer as they are filled with those of the oozing mass as a symbiotic relationship was started. With some effort however the individual inside can be pulled out, either struggling their own way out or by being pulled free by others forcefully in an effort to save the melted suit.

After being freed the wearer would often look strange themselves, their own features pulled into the shape of the person they had just been masquerading as. With the application of further Bodyy Balm this form could be locked into this new form, otherwise they would return to normal after a few hours.

The suit however would look healed completely after such an experience, walking and talking like their old self. However over the coming hours to days they would slowly return to their oozing form, a desperate hunger building inside them to be filled with the structure that had just escaped them before begging to be filled or simply consuming their wearer by force in some terrible cycle.

With an inundation of lawsuits Bodyy Balm shuttered, its remaining stock being taken from shelves and destroyed. Those containers left became rare and illicit items, traded for high sums due to the potential they posed.

Most people though only knew the stories, having never gotten aboard the hype train or being able to find the scant few supplies before they left the shelves. However, beyond the illicit market some boxes of the stuff keep turning up. From old warehouses shipping the wrong stock they missed to garage sales including old half-used ointments.

It was from one of these that I found myself embroiled in the terrible and awe-inspiring substance. With...