Lost Clinic - Part Two

As I step through the smashed in wall I tentatively approach the towering device, the shiny exterior catching the light of my torch and reflecting it back into my eyes. I jump with a start as a delightful tune crackles over a set of hidden speakers, the screen flickering to life as it lags its way through a Swap Clinic loading screen.

"Wel...come... toooooooo" the device crackles, the massive cylinder opening with a grinding hiss. "The Swap Clinic 'User Unknown'. Timesheet inaccessible... Update server inaccessible... Trait Bank inaccess... Partially accessible... Begin procedure?

Flinching at the harsh crackling coming from the speakers I watch as the dust covered touch screen finally flickers off the stuttering loading pinwheel. The interface shifts for a moment, freezing on what appears to be some crisp and clean corporate user interface before crashing as a series of folders and explorer windows pop onto the screen. 

Inching closer I spy the names of the folders, long strings of hyphens and numbers with the occasional word like 'hair' or 'chest'. Two large folders sit up the top, each apparently empty and numbered to always be easy to find.

'001. Input'

'002. Output'

Lost Clinic - Part One

Floorboards creak underfoot as I pace into the cramped dank apartment, a deep moist funk clinging to room as the stagnant air slowly circulates for the first time in who knows how long. Clutching the last of my boxes in my hands I slowly trudge towards to pile in the center of the mall central living room, a series of three windows illuminating the rather open space through a set of sickly green curtains.

"This..." I begin to huff, inhaling sharply as the sickening moist scent begins to overwhelm my sense. Looking at the pile of boxes I place the one in my hands the floor, watching as the loose board shift beneath its weight, before rushing over to the pile. One by one I read the labels, my gaze soon locking to one before I move to rip it open.

In one swift motion I pull free a full bottle of air freshener, spraying wildly as the room soon fills with a caramel and cinnamon scented mist. Sighing to myself I look around, my heart sinking as it slowly dawns on me that this was my new home. Rents were high and only getting higher, and without a job to help me pay for the drastically increasing cost of living I had been made to make sacrifices. Thankfully, before it had gotten too bad I had found this place, a severely neglected apartment sitting above an equally empty and forgotten storefront.

"Should have just sold pictures of my feet or something..." I grumble, eyeing up the L-Shaped kitchen counters sitting beside front door and opening up into the sparse living room. The mint green counters are scuffed and damaged, small specks and dark spots either being stains or some kind of mold infestation that I'd need to deal with later. The over and stove top sit beneath one of the windows, the green tinted light highlighting the rusting edges around the metal appliances.

Look back to the front door I slowly tun left, looking at the tiny heavily outdated bathroom with a soap-scum coated shower and bath combo sneaking just into view through the slightly ajar door. To the left of the bathroom sits the one and only bedroom, the small room struggling to even fit a wardrobe alongside a single bed.

Pacing deeper into the apartment I keep spraying the scented mist, knowing full well I would need to be doing this for days and weeks to come in order to remove the disgusting fuck clinging to the orange shag carpeted bedroom in particular.

"Or married rich..." I chuckle weakly, making light of my situation as I step onto the well worn and filthy carpet in the bedroom. "Maybe I just a fresh start or..." I continue, pausing as I gag at the sensation of the carpet shifting beneath my feet. The aging flooring almost squelches under foot, the plush pile shifting as whatever glue had held it to the floor boards had eroded long ago.

Full Form Fitness - Dumping Ground - Part Two

Suddenly, the machine roars to life as plumes of mist erupt from within. Despite the cold I feel hundreds and thousands of pinprick like bursts of heat begin to tease and dart across my skin. In a matter of moments I feel my muscles seemingly turn to mush, the mixture of targeted heat and surrounding cold easing my body beyond the realms of belief.

"Ten inches? Lucky you" the dark haired woman chuckles, the clattering of keyboard strokes barely reaching me as the machine continues to hum and whir around me.

"How did you..." I begin to croak, my throat soon refusing to make any sort of utterance as it too grows overly relaxed and numbed.

"Oh it's all here" the dark haired employee giggles, a key more keystrokes quickly following. "Don't worry, we know someone who will enjoy it far more. Thank you for filling that order for us, we needed another Show Room Body and that bulge will be peeeeeerfect. But as for you...We've been needing to have a bit of a clean out for a while now."

Full Form Fitness - Work-In-Progress - Part Two

Suddenly, the machine roars to life as plumes of mist erupt from within. Despite the cold I feel hundreds and thousands of pinprick like bursts of heat begin to tease and dart across my skin. In a matter of moments I feel my muscles seemingly turn to mush, the mixture of targeted heat and surrounding cold easing my body beyond the realms of belief.

"Ten inches? Lucky you" the dark haired woman chuckles, the clattering of keyboard strokes barely reaching me as the machine continues to hum and whir around me.

"How did you..." I begin to croak, my throat soon refusing to make any sort of utterance as it too grows overly relaxed and numbed.

"Oh it's all here" the dark haired employee giggles, a key more keystrokes quickly following. "Don't worry, we know someone who will enjoy it far more. Thank you for filling that order for us, we needed another Show Room Body and that bulge will be peeeeeerfect. But as for you...We've been needing a success story for our latest 'franchise'.

Full Form Fitness - Show Room - Part Two

Suddenly, the machine roars to life as plumes of mist erupt from within. Despite the cold I feel hundreds and thousands of pinprick like bursts of heat begin to tease and dart across my skin. In a matter of moments I feel my muscles seemingly turn to mush, the mixture of targeted heat and surrounding cold easing my body beyond the realms of belief.

"Ten inches? Lucky you" the dark haired woman chuckles, the clattering of keyboard strokes barely reaching me as the machine continues to hum and whir around me.

"How did you..." I begin to croak, my throat soon refusing to make any sort of utterance as it too grows overly relaxed and numbed.

"Oh it's all here" the dark haired employee giggles, a key more keystrokes quickly following. "Don't worry, we know someone who will enjoy it far more. Thank you for filling that order for us, we needed another Show Room Body and that bulge will be peeeeeerfect. But as for you...We've been needing a bit of eye candy with some brains." 

Full Form Fitness - Part One

Rain spits down from above as I trudge up the street, my hands pulling and picking at my clothing with each step as I find the material pinching and riding up in the most uncomfortable ways. I hadn't worn something like this in years, at least not for their intended purpose, my preferred size for sweat pants being 'too large' and 'comfortable' as opposed to being made for exercise.

However, after months lazing about at home and even longer being largely sedentary in the office my body had finally started to show the signs of my lounging lifestyle. Glancing down I look at my hoodie covered body, my free hand prodding at the small little bit of belly flab that had started to form over the past who knows how long.

"Maybe I could just eat a little less..." I begin to mumble, already growing tired after my little walk to the deep innards of the city in search of my new gym. "Or like a little jog... in the morning... with no one around to..."

I pause my train of thought as my phone buzzes in my pocket, the small device trying to alert me that we had arrived at our destination. Looking up from my stupor I find myself staring at a large rounded wall of glass, the large corner plot looking more like a view platform for passersby to gawk at the people inside. Pink, blue, and purple cladding run along the edges of the window, framing the gym within with bright eye catching colors.

I can't help but stare for a moment, my gaze locking to the men and women inside as the rain begins to beat down at a heavier rate by the second. Slender yet stacked women bend and twist into all manner of yoga poses in full view of everyone, towering muscular men seem to effortlessly lift weights, women with powerful thighs squat while a group of cyclists power through a stationary workout at high speeds.

For each of these paragons of fitness I spot several more common places persons, most seemingly catching glances at the men and women around them while a scant few seem more so focused on their workout as they hammer out sets and make notes in a little branded pad.

Looking at the treadmills by the window I spot a young yet somewhat doughy blonde woman, her tan face red and drenched in sweat. Her eyes meet my own, her lip twitching and her face wincing as she suddenly slows her stride and steps to the sides of the machine. In a huff she looks down at her flabby frame, muttering something before pulling out a purple notepad with black highlights with a familiar branding.

Full Form Fitness

Hybrid Helper - Part Two

I watch as Mrs Mawab takes a deep breath, her hazel eyes closing in deep thought for a moment. The whistling from the window grows sharp and loud as wind pounds the window, a slight pitter patter of rain beginning to build against the glass as well.

After almost a minute of sitting in silence I watch as Mrs Mawab's eyes snap open, her gaze darting to the needles as she searches for some kind of distinguishing marks. Finally she snatches one from the desk, giving it a more close reading before she hops to her feet with an unsteady jiggle rippling through her body.

"Okay..." she chuckles, waddling around the desk and towards me. "So... I think you would be great as our new embedded student support. We can't just hire back a teacher that we recently fired simply due to their... You know, you understand" she explains, waving her hand in a circular gesture as her words falter while the large needle jostles unnervingly close to my face. "And getting rid of Mr Lowe this way? No no, that was a terrible idea."

"Uh..." I wheeze, my eyes glued to the large shiny metal casing of the syringe. A string of numbers and letters are printed on the side, their meaning lost on me entirely as I struggle to read them in the poor light filling the room. "Can I... what about..."

"I suppose we could make you an assistant to one of the lecturers" she says with a smirk, glancing back over at the needles on the desk as she looks for one in particular. "I'm sure you'd love dong all of their photocopying and handing out papers or reading material day in day..."

"Fine fine, not that one I..." I begin to grumble back, only to be cut short by a phlegm filled chuckle from the older woman beside me.

"Well if you don't want to shuffle papers all day then we simply can't make you our new office administrator. And I suppose that would be a large part of working in the student hub and as a club officer for..." she explains, smiling the whole while as she seems to enjoy slowly breaking down my rapidly diminishing options.