Reality Reversal - Part One

I kick my legs beneath my seat as I sit in the cramped waiting room, the extended and narrow space being more a wide corridor than a real room in and of itself. I had been waiting for nearly an hour, the rough appointment time being more of an estimate given the nature of the work going on behind closed doors.

"Mr Anderson?" calls a soft voice from further up the room, a tall and slender redheaded woman reading from a clip board as a doughy young man heaves up to his feet. The plastic seat creaks beneath him as the frame flexes without his weight bearing down on it.

I watch as the shorter blonde haired man waddles up towards the taller redhead, the woman barely even paying him much attention as she gestures down a hall with her clip board before guiding him out of sight.

My gaze returns to the walls around me, the pale robin's egg blue begin meant to act as a calming color for those awaiting their test results. Posters and pamphlets set in clear view for those waiting for their appointment.

'It's okay to be the weaker side'

'Coping mechanisms for a new reality'

'Need new clothes? Find local partners stores inside!'

Gender-Flu Season - Part Four

A knocking raps out from the front door, my groggy mind barely aware of where I was let alone able to really work out who would be at the door.

Groaning loudly, my voice sounding more like a pre-teen boy than my own, I slowly heave myself to my knees. A cascade of hair tumbles around my ears and shoulders, the strands seemingly evening out slightly though still lacking any uniform cohesion across my scalp. Wobbling up to my feet I feel loose skin droop and hang over my right pectoral, an empty sack of flesh just waiting to be filled with something softer to the tough.

"God damn..." I whimper, limping my way to the door as I feel my body scream and fight me the whole way. Each step hurts in some way or another, too much weight being put on an irregular joint or an overly shrunken tendon twinging as it's forced to extend.

Reaching the door I creak it open slightly, not wanting to let anyone see inside or let any of the disease of scent from within out. Looking outside I'm met with the sight of a platter of food, tape measure and a note reading

'Need measurements for uniform'

My mouth immediately begins to salivate at the sight of the food. Despite the damp sea air and speckled rain drops covering the platter my body yearns for that had been left outside. Sticks of butter lay piled in the center, my tongue smacking at my lips as the craving for fats of any kind burns deep in my gut. Beside the large plastic platter sits two jugs of milk, the sloshing lipid and calcium laden beverage making my throat feel almost painfully dry at the sight.

Worst yet is the slab of raw red meat stacked around the veritable tower of butter, the sight of which leaves me almost wide eyed with hunger as something deep inside my demands I consume the iron rich meat with reckless abandon. The meat itself is dotted with a hefty coating of ground rock salt, my strangely large feeling tongue hanging out of my mouth as I drool at the sight of the sorely needed mineral

Animal Emergency - Part One

My head swims as I slowly stir to consciousness, the pounding in my skull maintaining a steady rhythm as I listen to the blood rushing in my ears. The world around me feels almost disturbingly still, every inch of my face being held tightly by a warmth that seems to fill every nook and cranny around me.

Even as I feel worry begin to set in my heart rate remains concerningly steady, each pump coming in at a perfectly even rate despite the mounting fear. A dull beeping rings out from beside me, the electronic buzzing reaching my ears in a muffled and distorted state.

I struggle to open my eyes, the thick substance around me keeping my eyelids shut even as I attempt to ease them open.

"Goo... your awa..." calls out a heavily muffled voice, the sound of my blood rushing through my ears making in impossible to make out half of what they are saying. The world around me rumbles as they approach, the heavy footfalls jostling me as my eyes finally snap open.

I appear to be at around waist height, my view of the world warping through a combination of a faint green ooze and a thick pane of glass that appears to wrap around me. My mouth falls open, the foul smelling goo seeping inside as I stare at the sight of my body hanging limply on the other side of the room.

Swapping R&D: Barnyard Branch - Part One

I kick my legs beneath me as I wait in the all too familiar foyer, the slightly chipped dull yellow paint taking me back to my days of study and my former job teaching in the nearby buildings. The old teaching building, a central point on my old campus, was well overdue for a renovation and in fact one was planned so long as the right funding could be secured.

It was why I had been called in today, despite being made redundant several months ago, the college needed money and knew I needed it as well. The email had been bare to say the least, mostly just confirming the time to come and the forms to fill out if I was interested in earning some ongoing cash.

Looking around the foyer, not seeing a single soul aside from myself, I quickly fish my phone from my pocket. With an uneasy feeling I pull up the email, the fear I had come at the wrong time slowly sinking in. 

Gender-Flu Season - Part Three

With one last huff I force the door open, lurching inside the dark room before slamming the door behind me with my back against it. With a sigh of relief I slowly slide down with my back against the wooden door, my body dropping onto the hardwood floor as I catch my breath.

The image of the test in the back of my car and the sight of my mother upstairs makes my skin crawl, my breath catching in my chest as I slowly try to crawl to my feet.

"This is so... fucking wrong..." I cough, my mind reeling as I try to comprehend what was about to happen or even what I might look like once all was said and done.

Slapping my hand around I soon find the smooth plastic of the light switch, my fingers glancing over it as the room is suddenly flooded with painfully bright warm light. In reality, the light was more cozy than anything else, my pounding headache and fever leaving my eyes far more sensitive to the sudden shift.

The ever so slightly off-white walls glow almost golden under the soft light of the bulb above, the messy and sweat soaked bed in the back of the room appearing more like a void of sodden blankets under the poor lighting. Bags sit at the foot of the bed, my clothes barely unpacked since my arrival and my sudden illness.

The bed itself rests in a small alcove, the wall wrapping around it as a new space is formed on it's left. The open door reveals the dim and dank modern bathroom beyond, a simple sink and toilet taking up hafl the room before a large shower takes up the rest. The living space is split between a tiny living room that had been cobbled together last minute for my arrival, a simple couch and coffee table playing home to my laptop, while a galley kitchen runs along the left wall.

The humming of the fridge nearly makes me want to vomit, the mere thought of food making my stomach churning violently as I feel something foul fill it despite my lack of breakfast. Coughing slightly I stagger forwards, tumbling onto the sofa as a burp abruptly.

Meat

The scent and flavor of some raw and visceral fill my mouth as I feel the color drain from my face. My breath clings to my tongue as I retch, lipids riding on the air grasping at me and coating my mouth as my body rapidly sheds excess fat in any way it can.

Gender-Flu Season - Part Two

The door slams shut before the young woman can finish her sentence, her tiny figure quickly running past with her arms outstretched in front of her as if merely touching my car had left the gloves coated in whatever I was infected with.

"Thanks..." I croak, rolling my eyes as I undo my seat belt and spin around to look into the back seat. My bones creak and joints pop as I slump halfway between the two sections of my old sedan, a low groan escaping my lips as I ease down onto my elbow before grabbing the package.

Thankfully, testing for the Gender-Flu was remarkably simple. Pulling the two boxes out I grab the slender plastic trays from within, one for the disease itself and another for variants, before fishing around in the boxes for the 'mixing' tube. Hacking up a cough I spit into one of the tube, my dry and foul tasting mouth struggling to make the same deposit into the second without another round of chest rattling coughs. Capping each I shake them weakly, my wrist crackling and cracking painfully as I try to mix the tubes properly.

With a thankful sigh I pour each tube into the collection section of the tray, the lack of a dropper of any other fiddly attachment making me relieved as I clamber into the back seat to have a lay down. Shivering and shaking I slowly move to read the results, my heart skipping a beat as I read the test aloud.

"Regression... positive..." I wheeze painfully, my ribs cracking and my lungs popping like bubble wrap as I exhale deeply. My groggy mind reels at the thought, the whole thing being a struggle to piece together through the haze in my head.

My skin crawls as I worm my way back into the drivers seat, a pool of sweat being left in the back seat where my arm lay. As my head flops back into the headrest a splattering of sweat coated hair slaps against my forehead, the strands already seemingly slightly longer.

"FuUu..." I begin to groan, the sound my voice pitching up and breaking as though I was undergoing puberty causing me to slam my mouth shut. Despite it all I can't muster to strength to be angry, the almost painful draining sensation wracking my body leaving me lingering in a constant malaise.

Gender-Flu Season - Part One

My fingers grip the steering wheel of my car as I slowly creep through the packed shopping center parking lot. My knuckles practically glow white as I squeeze the supple plastic in front of me, the grip only easing as I wipe the sweat from my brow before it can drip into my eyes.

The world is a constant mild haze, my head swimming and my vision waning as I crawl the car ahead towards an empty space. My breath is ragged, each gasp leaving my throat raspy and sore as my mouth fills with the strange taste of iron and fat. Every inch of my body seems to shiver and twitch, from my bones to my muscles and even my skin I feel completely off and downright drained.

Pulling into the parking lot I spot a tiny young woman standing by the doors ahead of me, the diminutive minimum wage employee wearing a long set of rubber gloves and a mask beneath a cumbersome plastic face shield. In her shaking hands she holds a large paper bag, the two boxes inside bouncing against one another as she struggles to fight back her nerves.

As my car rolls to a stop the tony blonde races towards my car, sweat forming on her tanned forehead as she sprints past my door before opening the one to the back seat. In one swift motion she practically flings the package into the back seat, her voice quivering weakly as she goes to slam the door shut.

"Your order sir, one Gender-Flu test and one for vari..."