Primal (Patreon)

Now for something completely different.  The 2nd of 3 snippet prompts from the high tier. 

Subject: Dr. Hira Bhatt

Badge: Dr. Hira Bhatt

Voice: Verified

Attending: Dr. Si-woo Park

Badge: Dr. Si-woo Park

Voice: Verified

Timestamp: 1556436313840

Hello?  Is this- oh, it transcribes in real time.  Wow.  The punctuation is amazing.  Is this- what service does EndoTech use to transcribe- Oh, sorry, I'll- I'll get started.  Yes, I'll meet you in your office after I'm finished, Dr. Park.

This is Dr. Hira Bhatt- oh, [Event: Dr. Si-woo Park Departs] just like it shows up top.  It even spelled my name right.  Facial recognition, of course.

Moving from Baltimore to Gerlach, Nevada is a shock.  Well, not exactly Gerlach, I guess.  it's a compound outside of the tiny, tiny town.  I have a company car and a company apartment in a company shopping center complete with a company movie theater, a company restaurant and, well, you get the idea.  The most exciting thing is the nearby Black Rock Desert.  A desert.  That's the most exciting attraction in the area.  I'll skip it and stay in my apartment with the air conditioning turned up.

Today I begin my first day at EndoTech under Dr. Si-woo Park in their genetics division.   I was informed upon arrival that I have a year long intensive training program to complete before I would be allowed to actually begin my real work.

I have to say that I'm intensely curious to learn what this entails.  As a medical geneticist, I have all kinds of wild ideas, mostly brought about by the many ridiculous science fiction movies my younger brother watched.  All I can say is that if I'm to be trained to create Khan Noonien Singh and the first Eugenics War, I'll have to politely decline.

Dr. Park is waiting for me.  I suppose I'll soon find out what I've signed up for.

Subject: Dr. Hira Bhatt

Badge: Dr. Hira Bhatt

Voice: Verified

Timestamp: 1556867633208

Chickens.  We're currently studying chickens.  I think the heat is getting to me because I almost asked Dr. Craig if they accidentally hired the wrong Hira Bhatt.  That perhaps there is a veterinarian physician in Baltimore with the same name and they accidentally called me instead.  They have an entire facility dedicated to the care and raising of live chickens.

Incidentally, there isn't another Hira Bhatt in Baltimore.  Or in Maryland.  Sitting alone in my apartment last night with my chair next to the air conditioning unit, I searched the very, very company curated Internet to give myself a break from my "homework"- oh, that's neat.  I used my fingers around the word homework and it provided the quotes.

We're using the initial work done in sequencing the chicken genome back in 2014 as the base but EndoTech has greatly expanded on the original research.  Greatly.  In addition to these studies, I'm being given a crash course in computational biology.  It's fascinating and the lecturer, Dr. Huang, is brilliant.

I feel like a picture is beginning to develop as the pieces are assembled but I'm still unaware of what they want me to do and I'm too scared to ask.

Personal note.  I think my period will start soon.  I'm feeling more emotional than I should be and a little, um, lonely.

I'm supposed to use this daily as a journal.  They say it's encrypted but I expect that's not entirely true.  Still, I know nobody here and everyone seems to keep to themselves.  There are no company events planned and it appears as if they're encouraging people to keep to themselves.  Possibly to foster a more focused work environment?  Or perhaps to prevent people from snooping into other divisions?  I had to sign away my life to even hear about the job offer so I wouldn't be surprised.  So, sure, perhaps the journal can be read at any time but there's nobody to talk to otherwise.

Do people date here?  I feel like even that is taboo.  I'll have to dive back into the massive employment packet again to find out.  I know this is just my- my time making me feel a little lonelier than normal but it will pass.  

So, rage, uterus.  Release the useless little egg and then tear it all down.  I'll bear the cramps and blood and give a little prayer to Parvati along the way.

Subject: Dr. Hira Bhatt

Badge: Dr. Hira Bhatt

Voice: Verified

Timestamp: 1560352403296

I saw it today.

Subject: Dr. Hira Bhatt

Badge: Dr. Hira Bhatt

Voice: Verified

Timestamp: 1560354363357

Sorry.  I- I had to go for a walk.

My little "class" had a field trip today.  Very secretive.  When the armed escort joined us, I began to worry.  I didn't even know we had a security team here.  It makes sense in retrospect but having them next to me was intimidating to say the least.  Their rifles were against their chest and- and I'm pretty sure they had their fingers on the trigger guards.

We went past checkpoint after checkpoint until we entered a round chamber.  A wide cylinder dominated the center of the room with a railing surrounding it.  The cylinder was clear at eye level.

An enormous cracked egg lay within, surrounded by a thick haze of some ghost-like gas that wafted around the egg.  As if stroking it fondly.  It's weird, I know, but that's immediately what I thought when I saw it.  A large section of the egg was missing but the yolk sac was intact, the yellow streaked with red.

The security team spaced themselves out around the room but they let us walk to the railing.  I couldn't see the embryo and I couldn't recognize the type of egg.  The shell was flaxen with olive striations.

I wanted to ask so many questions but the hush of the room and the looming security team forbade it.

Only when we were led back to our class were we given an explanation.  

Tyrannosaurus.  A Tyrannosaurus egg.  One of three but the one we saw was the most intact.  

A fisherman in Alaska happened upon the worst of the three twenty years ago.  An expedition was dispatched and the rest were found.

Today, I learned about the Laramidia land mass and how incredibly rich it is in fossils of many different dinosaur groups.  I might have learned about it in grade school but, if so, those memories are long lost.

It's the final piece of the puzzle and an important step for our next lesson and the true reason I was brought on board: they plan to bring dinosaurs back using the genetic closeness of chicken DNA as a starting point for gene editing.

I would laugh at the absurdity if I wasn't aware of just how incredibly serious and talented my coworkers are in their respective fields.

Subject: Dr. Hira Bhatt

Badge: Dr. Hira Bhatt

Voice: Verified

Timestamp: 1560434943650

Dr. Bryce - sorry, Dr. Susan Bryce was fired this morning.  I thought the trip yesterday was terrifying but I was mistaken.  Ten security guards burst into our training room without notice.  They were led by an older man who had the most grim face.

They rushed Dr. Bryce while the leader barked at the rest of us to line up against the wall.  For the briefest moment, I had this fear that we would all be shot but they ignored us, with the exception of a single security member standing before us.

Dr. Bryce screamed.  She started to say something but they slapped a patch on her mouth before placing handcuffs on her.  The poor woman fought like a wild person, kicking and trying to headbutt the men when they grabbed her arms to walk her from the room.

She stared at me just before she left and her eyes were so scared.  

They ended the class and separated us into small rooms.  Shortly after, I was called into another small room.  An office with comfortable, leather chairs.  A staff psychologist spoke to me but I'm fairly certain he was also interrogating me.  Gently and subtly but I'm not a fool despite how good he was at his job.  Everything in the room was designed to be comforting from the soft lighting to the coloring.  The man's beard and eyes both matched the chair's colors.

I asked what would happen to Dr. Bryce but he wouldn't tell me.  Instead, he asked why I wanted to know and I could tell it was the wrong thing to ask.  I stuttered out some inane reply that seemed to mollify him.

He was almost worse than the security team with his piercing eyes and leading questions.

Have I made a mistake here?

Subject: Dr. Hira Bhatt

Badge: Dr. Hira Bhatt

Voice: Verified

Timestamp: 1565876620416

The original class has dwindled.  Two more people left, voluntarily this time.  Of them, I'll miss Dr. Brandt the most.  Very few people have taken the time to socialize and he was one of them.

I could see it happening during the last few months but I think losing Dr. Bryce tipped him over the edge.  Before that, you could see a tightness growing around his eyes and his smile seemed strained more often than not.  He would still laugh and tell his silly little jokes with his charming accent but, as time went on, his eyes became haunted.

He told me last night that he was resigning from his post.  We walked for a while afterwards.  I asked if he was sure it was the best course and he asked me, as politely as possible, how I could stand to continue working here.  It's...

It's a thought I've had before.  Obviously I've wondered if I'm on the right path.  Obviously.  It's just that EndoTech is doing revolutionary work and that's just with the little they've let me work on.  I'm itching to pull back the curtain to see everything.  Or at least the real work.  I- I want to be part of this.  I want to have my name listed when the world sees their first dinosaur.

I'm hungry for it.

Maybe even after everything has played out and our work is public, maybe I could write a novel.  I dream about it sometimes, late at night with nothing else to do when I try to fall asleep.  A hidden research station with a brilliant young researcher that makes the breakthrough discovery to bring dinosaurs back.  Add in some drama, maybe some romance and action and it'd be a bestseller.  The dinosaurs would definitely break out of their cages and the security team would be the first to go.  The genius heroine would survive, perhaps losing her romantic interest along the way, and she'd lead a small group of survivors from the complex, trapping the dinosaurs within.  An open-ended plot ripe for sequels.  Something new and fresh for the publishing world.  

Ah.  But- but that's just my dreams.  And- and I was talking about Dr. Brandt.

I wished him luck and he said he'd tell me goodbye before he left today but I guess he was probably too busy jumping through their hoops.  The amount of paperwork needed to be accepted was daunting; I can only imagine what's required to bind you to silence when you leave.

Still, I wish I could've seen him one more time.

Subject: Dr. Hira Bhatt

Badge: Dr. Hira Bhatt

Voice: Verified

Timestamp: 1567321522288

A call woke me earlier this morning.  I hate how my heart jumped.  We're cut off from the outside world due to the nature of our research so the only communication is via the company.  

A phone call before 6 AM on a Sunday can never be good.  Or so I thought.  

I thought I would faint on the way in to work but it turns out that today is the day they pull the curtain back.

Today is the day we start to do work on the fragments of DNA recovered from the specimen.  We were split up and separated, the few of us that remained.  Each sent to work with different teams.  Further lessons are to be self study so more work to keep me busy at night.

They'd said it would take a year, that we would have to finish our studies before beginning the real work but something must've changed.  I won't complain.

Subject: Dr. Hira Bhatt

Badge: Dr. Hira Bhatt

Voice: Verified

Timestamp: 1567761154292

Oh my gosh.  Oh my gosh.  I'm on team Tyrannosaurus!  Oh my gosh.

It's really, really hard to contain my excitement.  This is the big one.  Not the largest by size but the biggest in humanity's mind.  The king itself!

And they chose me for it!

I'm a little disappointed that there's no "cool" name for our team but I don't mind.  I just wish they'd be more personable.  I'd hoped that once I was out of class, so to speak, that my coworkers would open up more.  I guess it was a foolish hope.  And, besides, even working on a team, we're mostly separated into our own sections, often communicating more over emails and instant messages than in person.

But, still!  Tyrannosaurus!

Subject: Dr. Hira Bhatt

Badge: Dr. Hira Bhatt

Voice: Verified

Timestamp: 1570107326850

I think I saw Dr. Bryce today. It was just for a moment but I'm sure it was her.

It was after lunch when I was leaving the dining hall.  There was a commotion and a lot of people moving around.  I've learned to keep to myself over the months I've been here but I was curious so I peeked around the corner.

In the distance, nearly hidden by a gaggle of security team members was a blonde haired woman I was sure was Dr. Bryce.  Her hair was loose rather than tightly braided like she kept it before but her stature seemed familiar.  Plus, she turned her head just before she was pulled into a new corridor and I swear I recognized her face.  She had this nose that- well, it doesn't matter.  

If it's her, why?  When she was taken away, I assume she either did something illegal or she violated her employment agreement in some way.  The latter would simply get her kicked out but the former would have her arrested and taken away.  So why is she here?

It has to be her.  And somehow, knowing that she's being kept here is more terrifying than knowing she was sent away.

Subject: Dr. Hira Bhatt

Badge: Dr. Hira Bhatt

Voice: Verified

Timestamp: 1577170867558

We begin trials today.  We have a cocktail of nanoparticles ready to go.  Actually, we have a series of them.  We're starting with a batch of ten with ten different mixtures each.  Our hens are ready to go and the IVF teams are standing by.  We've already filled the syringes, gently settled them into their marked cases for transport and are waiting for pickup.

I'm incredibly nervous.

Personal note.  I still hate needles, even knowing they're not for me.

Subject: Dr. Hira Bhatt

Badge: Dr. Hira Bhatt

Voice: Verified

Timestamp: 1577351624411

Oh.  Um.  I guess yesterday was Christmas.  So, Merry Christmas.  I only know because I received a package from my old college roommate.  Whoever handles the mail here had opened it already and removed the labels but added one with my roommate's name.  I wonder if they took anything out.  There's just chocolates and a scarf she made herself.  She was always knitting to de-stress.

Time is weird here.  That means I've been here roughly eight months.  So much has happened.

Subject: Dr. Hira Bhatt

Badge: Dr. Hira Bhatt

Voice: Verified

Timestamp: 1577613723436

It failed.  They all failed, all of the tests.  Worse, six chickens died and that was unexpected.  For four of those, the eggs kept growing and growing and-

It'll be awhile before I get that sight out of my mind.  We already have more batches prepared and we'll be taking the data as well as tissue samples in order to tweak the series following that.  I've already logged my request for computing time to sequence the samples.

Personal note.  I need to check in with the pharmacy.  I've been having trouble sleeping lately.  Thankfully, they're free with various medications.  Within reason.

I guess I was just hoping for a win but it's unreasonable to expect results from the very first batch.

Subject: Dr. Hira Bhatt

Badge: Dr. Hira Bhatt

Voice: Verified

Timestamp: 1580757719842

More failures.  We're on - or were on- the fourth generation of tests now and it's starting to get to me.

I was called into Dr. Park's office this morning.  I expected to be yelled at but all he said was that he was concerned for my mental health.  Of course he'd see the records from the pharmacy.  But all he mentioned was that he knew how much of a toll repeated failures can take on someone with my kind of drive.

For a moment, I thought he was making a subtle jab at me with the failure comment but he said he was extremely pleased with our progress and even his managers didn't expect results for years.  We were already fully funded for a decade with or without results, he'd said.  A decade!  

He wants me to take an entire week off and he's ready to approve whatever amenities I want during that time.  Unlimited massages or spa time or movies or literally whatever I want within our company's compound-

Tsk.

I shouldn't call it a compound.  Too much similarities to a cult.

Well, I almost cried.  I am still exhausted, despite the medication.  And I'm on my period.  And I still feel like a failure despite Dr. Park's kind words.

I have to help prepare a new batch tomorrow for the next round of potentially unlucky hens so I'll start my vacation the day after.

Subject: Dr. Hira Bhatt

Badge: Dr. Hira Bhatt

Voice: Verified

Timestamp: 1580817430836

Preparation and deployment went perfectly.  Nothing else to report other than my week of vacation begins tomorrow, per Dr. Park.

Personal Audio Recording

Transcript: Disabled

Timestamp: 1580817251252

I'm fucked.  I'm fucked, I'm fucked, I'm fucked.  I can't use the company's journaling system and I'll be damned if I write this down online or on real paper.  I already lied on my official dictation this morning.  I need- I need to keep a log.  If something goes wrong, I'll leave it for them to find and they'll know what really happened.  But, for now, I just have to talk it out.  I can't- I can't-

[Recording Paused]

Okay, I'm back. I just- I just had to cry for a while there.

So, um, this morning.  I was preparing the new batch of nanoparticles as usual.  Dr. Wells was assisting.  

I- I dropped one of the syringes.  I'm still- I'm still not sleeping well and the medication is giving me vivid, strange dreams.  I'm just so tired all the time and-

The syringe hit the ground at just the right angle.  Some of the solution was on the tip.

I- In my panic, I reached for it and pricked myself and the damn needle got through my gloves.  It could be nothing.  I replaced it before Dr. Wells could see and my gloves might have absorbed the solution before it reached my skin.  After I'd placed it in the case, I made an excuse to change gloves and inspect the injection site.  There was a mark.

It's- I'm probably just panicking for nothing.  It's likely nothing at all.

Personal Audio Recording

Transcript: Disabled

Timestamp: 1580883825228

I think- I think I slept for 2 hours.  It's a little hard to sleep when you're wondering whether your DNA will break, turning your body into a fleshy soup.

I'm surprisingly okay, with the exception of sleep.  My temperature reads fine.  There's no pain anywhere.  My mental faculties are all present.  I ran through the numerous passwords I have memorized and I can still remember them.

The relief is overwhelming.  I feel light and energetic and ready to take on my week long mandated vacation.

But, maybe after a nap.

Personal Audio Recording

Transcript: Disabled

Timestamp: 1580929984392

God.  My mouth tastes like wet cigarettes.  I should've set an alarm for my nap but I thought I'd just naturally wake up after a few hours.  

It's just past 7 PM and I'm still tired.  I think I'll just go back to sleep and try again tomorrow.  All of my bad sleep is catching up to me.

Personal Audio Recording

Transcript: Disabled

Timestamp: 1580977684657

Hard to get up this morning.  Had to turn down the air conditioning when I woke up shivering a few hours ago.  Feels a lot better now.

Today I am awake and rested even without the aid of the sleeping pills.  As a bonus, I don't remember any dreams and I'm grateful for that after the surreal ones I've been experiencing.

I think I will make use of Dr. Park's offer.  I'd thought, after what happened in the lab, I would hide in my room for the entire week but I feel the need to get out.  The fresh air is calling to me.  And the sun!  I'm starting to think part of my problem is that I'm either in the lab or in my room.  Stuck in sterile, temperature controlled environments for months at a time has to be bad for the body.  

Maybe I'll even sunbathe.  That sounds amazing right now.  Just stretched out, warming myself under the sun without worrying about tests or work or anything.  I think I'll celebrate by buying myself a bikini.

Personal Audio Recording

Transcript: Disabled

Timestamp: 1581016146557

That was amazing.  I went to the, gosh, what would it be called?  EndoTech branded Target store, I guess.  Basically where they stock everything from food to bikinis to furniture to, well, everything.

I found a little tawny two piece held together by these little brass rings and I fell in love with it.  Being a second generation immigrant, I was pushed hard.  I know my parents love me but they wanted the best from me and that didn't include swimming lessons.  Or spending my limited free time at the beach.

The idea of being half naked in front of strangers was scary but, really, as soon as I stepped out of the apartment complex, I couldn't help but smile up at the sun.  I felt like a flower undergoing photosynthesis.  I have been cooped up inside for too long.  So, while I was embarrassed changing in the women's locker room by the pool, the idea of just laying out with the sun soaking into my body lessened the impact.

I fell asleep and it was glorious.  Even though the pool area was mostly empty, I hid far in the corner.  Laid out on the towel spread over the long chairs, I just felt my body relaxing centimeter by centimeter.  I could literally feel myself buzzing as if a million microscopic masseuses worked over my body all at once.  I turned over to my stomach at some point before falling asleep.

I should feel like I wasted my day but I don't.  I'm going to turn off the air conditioning and open the window for once.  And then I'm going to curl up by the window to watch movies for the rest of the night.  We have access to whatever's playing in theaters but it's been so long that I don't even know what's showing right now.

Personal Audio Recording

Transcript: Disabled

Timestamp: 1581063850730

I'm peeling.  I didn't even realize it until after I brushed my teeth.  I went back to make my bed and there was dry skin all over the sheets.  Honestly, it was a little off-putting.  I didn't, and still don't, feel burned.  I had to peel more from my stomach and legs.

The sun was shining through my window so I opened it  to let the heat in before stripping my pajama top off.  Feels nice to walk around with a minimum amount of clothing and I thought it'd be better for my sunburn to breathe.  I don't know why I've been such a prude.  I'm on the 7th floor with nothing beyond my window except for the distant desert.

I stood at the window for a while, topless, with the sun warming my body.  My skin felt smooth, perhaps because of the old skin I'd peeled off.  When was the last time I took a moment to myself to enjoy nature like that?  

Personal note.  It felt good to touch my body.  I almost think the new skin is darker than before, walnut rather than peanut.  My stomach rumbles and I know I'm hungry if I'm making those kinds of comparisons!  But, really, I stood there, welcoming the sun, touching myself as I stared mindlessly into the distance- it was arousing in a way I can't quantify.

I-  Look, this stays between you and me but I played with my nipples a little, circling them with my thumb slowly.  Wetting my finger in my mouth before touching them again.  Feeling the sun dry my spit as it warmed my entire body.  Loving the way they hardened, shrinking to thin, dark, hard little nubs

I pulled my chair out to face the window before stripping completely naked.  I sat in the window, my feet against the wall with the sun soaking me completely while I masturbated.  

It was incredible.  The thrill of being in the open, despite the anonymity of the remote location and lack of neighbors was intoxicating.  I can't remember the last time I touched myself.  Before I accepted this position.  Back in Baltimore at some point.  No, it was the night before I went on a first date with Darren.  I was so excited and in need of a release after locking myself away to study.  

Rubbing myself irritated the skin a bit but I only noticed after I came.  

It's strange, though.  When I peeled the irritated skin away, hair came with it.  I'll have to remember to look that up after this recording to see if it's normal.  I don't have a lot of hair down there to begin with but now it's completely smooth.  Very, very smooth.  I guess I don't have to worry about waxing for my bikini?

I should get ready.  I think I'll visit the spa this morning.  They offer scrubs and face masks and I feel like that'd be a good idea with all the peeling.  I-

Oh, there's my dead skin on my back.  I can't- it's right in the middle and my stupid short arms can't-

[Recording Paused]

Well, that was embarrassing in two ways.

I think I'm part bear.  When I couldn't reach the loose skin on my back, I rubbed myself against the bathroom wall.  I can't imagine what that looked like.  The esteemed Dr. Hira Bhatt standing naked in her bathroom with her knees bent while vigorously grinding her back against the rough texture of the wall.

It felt good but it left a mess on the floor and only when I was done did I think to use a towel to scrub myself instead of rubbing myself like some beast.

I think I went too hard because, in addition to the dark skin, there are gray spots here and there and the skin looks irritated.  Even standing here, my spine feels warm against the rest of my back and it throbs a little.  I'll need to keep an eye on it.

To the spa!

Personal Audio Recording

Transcript: Disabled

Timestamp: 1581064570872

Despite my grumbling tummy, I also need to watch my caloric intake.  I had to loosen the band on my bra and my clothes fit a little tighter than I'd like.  I'll pick up some new clothes before I go to the spa.

I'm really leaving this time!

Personal Audio Recording

Transcript: Disabled

Timestamp: 1581102769553

This really was a wonderful idea.  After buying new clothes, I spent two hours being pampered at the spa before returning to the pool.  My back still hurts a little but it's manageable.  If it bothers me tomorrow, I'll get it checked out.  

I think I'll make this a routine once I return to work.  There's always a bit of sun left when I'm done for the day.  I'll just bring my bathing suit with me and lay out until the sun sets.

Just a short recording tonight.  I'm going to move my bed to rest beneath the window tonight.  And I'll need to figure out the thermostat.  It feels like it's been getting colder lately.

Personal Audio Recording

Transcript: Disabled

Timestamp: 1581149350474

Who needs a blanket when you have a heater and the sun itself?  

I woke hungry this morning.  And also cramping?  Maybe it's hunger pains.  My back is still sore but less than yesterday.  I don't think I need to go in for it since it's getting better.

There was more dead skin in my bed so I killed two birds with one stone, nibbling on the cast off skin while basking lazily beneath my window.  The extra nutrients will be good for me and will hopefully cut down on the cramping.  If not, I have plenty of time to make oats upma since I have yet another glorious day of relaxation ahead of me.

Ah.  That cramp hurt a little.

[Recording Paused]

There's some spotting.  Hopefully it doesn't echo too much in here but I'm in the bathroom, sitting on the toilet and there's light blood in the water.  

I just had my period last week.  This doesn't make sense.  

Tsk.

It feels sore down there.  I can't really see- no, there's a few drops of blood at the base of my vulva.  The skin feels inflamed and sensitive to the touch.  

Maybe that wasn't my period last week?  The pain isn't bad.  I do feel a little bloated but it's nothing like it usually is.  This is ridiculous.

[Recording Paused]

I called to schedule an appointment with my physician.  I think it's time for birth control to try and manage this.  It's already been a distraction in the lab and now this?  I'll get to see them in two days and hopefully they'll pick the right kind for me.

Personal Audio Recording

Transcript: Disabled

Timestamp: 1581151289495

I'm still hungry.  The umpa felt unsatisfying.  It's not, I don't know, it's not filling enough.  Not enough substance to it.  Maybe I'll stop at the store on the way home to pick up one of the new plant based meat substitutes.  That sounds good.  Who was it who mentioned it?  Judy at the cafeteria?  She said you can't tell the difference between the new ones and real meat and that sounds delicious right now.

In the meantime, I'm off to the pool again!

Personal Audio Recording

Transcript: Disabled

Timestamp: 1581191580450

Both the cramps and bloating are worse and I'm so hungry.  I ate three of the meat substitutes as burgers, complete with lettuce and tomato and I still feel like it wasn't enough.  It tickled my taste buds but left me otherwise unsatisfied.

I've already got a tampon in and a hot rice bag against my belly which, by the way, feels wonderful.  The heat just seeps into me and is almost enough to distract me.  To add to my list of complaints, my back still aches.  It's difficult to stay still to let the rice bag do its work.  I'll mention my back when I see my physician.

I'm going to try to sleep.

Personal Audio Recording

Transcript: Disabled

Timestamp: 1581228097523

Something's wrong.  Something's really, really wrong.

[Recording Paused]

I- I woke up an hour ago when it was still dark outside.  I felt out of my head a bit.  Out of my own body.  No, that's not right.  Overwhelmed.  Overloaded.  My entire body cried out for attention with thousands of points of data.  I was a stranger in my own flesh, wrestling against skin that felt at once both too taut and too loose.  

The cramps were worse.  But different.  They brought a- a- a kind of hunger with them.  I- I still feel it.  It's needy.  It was needy.

I found myself masturbating before I even realized what I was doing.  Thrashing around my bed violently as my own body fought against me.  

I- I ripped a piece of my bed sheet.  With my teeth.  It's like a fever dream.  I was on my knees with my chest on the bed just gnashing and gnawing.  My legs were spread with my hand-

I had three fingers inside and it still wasn't enough.  My head was pounding and I was shoving back against my hand.

There was a tear.  I felt it between my legs but I couldn't stop.  I couldn't.  I was so wet.  I- I- I'm- Still-

[Recording Paused]

I had to- had to do it again.  

No.  Earlier.

When- when I was done.  For the second time that morning.  I- I fainted from the pressure of it.  From my orgasm.  I woke up in pain but able to control myself finally.  I saw blood mixed in with my cu-

I ran to the bathroom but I banged my shoulder against the wall when I stumbled.  It doesn't- that doesn't matter.

I watched it happening.  I sat on the toilet, bent in half.  My vulva tore.  I carefully put a finger inside and pressed down.  I could feel the flesh separating my vagina from my- my- the- anal- I could feel it growing thin.  Micro tears tugged at my finger until I pulled it out.

The bleeding's stopped now but only a thin web of flesh separates the two.  My vulva is stretched and the labia are engorged and reddened.  I'm seeping, still wet.  God.  God!  I want to-  

There's an emptiness inside, mixed with the bloating and the cramps.  And something else.  I want to reach inside and-

F- four fingers- four fit-

[Recording Paused]

Oh god.  It tore.  It tore and the skin stretched out and now it's all one thing and I think I'm going to be sick I can't- I can't- I can't-

[Recording Paused]

Personal Audio Recording

Transcript: Disabled

Timestamp: 1581234902503

My leg's asleep.  I spent too long on the toilet.  I thought I had to- well, I kept pushing and waiting and pushing and waiting but nothing happened.  I just feel full.

Now I'm pacing, working the tingling numbness from my legs and- what is that?  What is that on my back?

There are- are those ridges?  The vertebrae in my spine are visible and twin columns of ridges line my spine on either side.  The mottled gray spots are stretched into stripes now that-

The serum.  Oh no.  

My vulva is- that's a cloaca.  It has to be the serum.  When I pricked myself, I must've-  But the guide molecule isn't keyed to human DNA.  It can't be- 

Nothing else could cause this to happen.  

It's getting too hot.  I've turned the heater off but I can't stop sweating.  Have to move the bed away from the window.  Need to lie down.  Head hurts.  Body hurts.

[Recording Paused]

I- I- I'm in b- bed.  C- Can't stop sh- shaking.  E- Every- Everything hurts.  D- don't kn- know if the recorder c- c- can hear me.

Thirsty.  So thirsty.  Th- the sw- sweating stopped.  Joints huh- hurt.  Buh- buh- belly cr- cramps.  S- s- so muh- much pressure.  Tearing me apart.  J- j- just wuh- want to p- pass out.

AUGH!  FUCK!  FUUUUCK!

[Recording Paused]

Personal Audio Recording

Transcript: Disabled

Timestamp: 1581255441502

My lips are so dry.  My tongue feels like it's rubbing on concrete when I try to wet them.  

The pain isn't so bad anymore.  It's there, it's still there in my joints but less.  I'm still in bed but I was able to reach the recorder.

I feel so bloated and heavy, mostly around my midsection.  I haven't worked up the courage to look yet but I can feel my thighs rubbing together whenever I move. 

Okay.

Okay, I can do this.  I have to do this.

Alright.  It's not terrible.  My waist is exaggerated.  Obviously wider.  Sitting up, I can feel the weight against my lower back.  The muscles in my gluteus maximus ache as if I've completed a long, vigorous workout.  

Light gray lines mark my skin over the expanded growth.  Palpation of the marks gives the impression of changes to musculature but I can still recognize the ilium by touch.  Continuing to the front, there's a vaguely pronounced bulge over the pelvic cavity.  There's some resistance.  Continued pressure causes an uncomfortable sensation.

Continuing lower there's-

SHIT!

Something- something moved.  I felt something fucking move in my waist.  

The skin is rough on my back, where I can reach it.  The ridges I felt earlier are hardened but separated by leathery skin.  Touching it makes me want to scratch it, as if reminding me suddenly of its existence.

Lower is-  

[Recording Paused]

There's a new growth in the sacral region.  A- a caudal vertebrae.  The diameter is difficult to determine but I'm estimating roughly four centimeters when using my own thumb as a simple measurement.  It is hairless but-

A tail.  It's a tail.  It wants to move whenever I grab it but I can hold it steady if I concentrate.  The effort is somewhere between clenching the muscles of my vagina and turning my waist.  Between the quadratus lumborum and the perineal muscles.

The- the tail is marked by scutes from the tip to the base of-

Dammit.  Goddammit.

I'll have to go into work.  I can take a DNA sample to compare against the batch I produced five days ago.  If I can find the discrepancies, I can try to prepare a solution to reverse the changes or at least halt them.

The cramps are starting to worsen.  I'm going to try to use the bathroom.  Well, no, I'm going to try to walk first.

My legs respond well.  The strength within is undeniable but it's the springiness that I'm unprepared for.  I have to focus on slowing down because otherwise, they move with a strange speed that I'm not familiar with.  

Standing now.  My center of balance has shifted, pushing my upper body forward slightly with my- my ass out behind me.  I can feel the tail lowering in response.  It takes effort to stand up straight and it adds a small amount of strain to my lower back.  

Fuck!

Oh.  Oh shit.  That scared the hell out of me.

There's dead skin on my face.  I thought- well, it doesn't matter.  Peeling it is strangely satisfying.  I watch it happen, leaning in to the mirror to see the new skin tug against the translucent old skin.  

My lips aren't just dry, they're segmented and gray with scaly growths at the corner of my mouth.

Oh no.

My brown eyes are no longer brown.  They're- they're the color of sun-aged parchment, streaked with rust.  And my pupils have a distinctive vertical oval shape.  It's vague enough to be easily missed unless you look close enough. 

[Recording Paused]

I just tested closing my eyes for a full minute before opening them.  They constrict vertically but still oblong.

The skin covering my face feels smooth and dry.  My nails bump along hidden gaps.  As I'd noticed days before, it appears darker than it should be.  As if I'd spent a year in the sun.

I keep- dammit, I keep leaning, thrust forward by my waist.  

Okay, back to business.  In more than one sense.

The toilet seems small now and it's a little uncomfortable to sit but I do.

Any time.  Sorry.  If anyone listens to this later, I'm sorry, this is probably not-  Ugh.  That-  Mmmm.

I don't think-

There's a pain in my abdominal but- but something else with it.  Arousal.  Naked arousal.  I can feel my tail against the raised lid of the toilet behind me and I can hear the quiet tink-tink-tink it makes as it moves.

I'm trying to distract myself.  From both- mmmmmm.  Fuck!

I don't have to use the bathroom.  That's- that-s that's not what-

Oh, fuck!

I'm- haaaaah- bedroom now.  Can't stand.  Legs too shaky.  Haaaaaa- oh god!  I can't stop clenching my-  I'm so wet.  It's coming- it's coming- I can feel it moving- oh fuck!  Oh fuck, please don't-  Oh fuck!  It's pressing on- it's pressing on- ohhhhh!

God!  GOD!

It's in the vaginal- fuck!  It's so thick!  I've never- no no no it won't fit, no, please- ah!  I'm going to- going to- 

Breathe breathe breathe breathe breathe breathe ooooohhhh- oh!  OH!

It's crowning, god, fuck, it's crowning!  I can feel it bulging, spreading me apart I'm cuh- cuh- GOD!

OFF!  TURN OFF!  DEVICE OF-

Personal Audio Recording

Transcript: Disabled

Timestamp: 1581258224128

There are three eggs sitting in a drying pool of vaginal discharge.  I'm both dizzy and nauseous.  Also out of breath and sore.  My throat hurts from screaming and it wasn't all because of the pain.

Also, unrelated to birthing fucking eggs, my face aches.  My cheeks and my jaw and my nose.  And I keep periodically sneezing.

They're unfertilized, obviously.  The eggs.  I can't stop looking at them.

Measurement is difficult due to the fact that I don't want to fucking touch them.  Gah.  I'm hardly ever this- my mother would slap my head if she heard me using this foul language so often.  

I would estimate a circumference of twelve centimeters and a length of fifteen centimeters now that they've hardened in open air.

They came out of me.  In a twisted, strange way, they're my unborn children.  Never born children?

My fingers itch.  I keep picking at my fingertips, scratching at them with my nails when my mind wanders and only when it snaps back to the situation at hand do I stop myself.

I'll have to get rid of them.  The eggs. But, the thought of breaking them sickens me.  I'll have to.  I know I have to.

I'm so hungry.  The effort has exhausted me and the physical changes wore me down. I've barely eaten.  I'm craving meat.  When was the last time I had real meat?  I've been a vegetarian for such a long time but I can't stop thinking about steak.  Fatty steak on a plate.  Ridiculously thick.  Steam rising off of it.  Laying in a pool of its own myoglobin.  

If I'm craving it, my body needs it.  I'm scared of what might happen if I deprive myself of it.  I'm so hungry.

Hello?  Yes, this is Dr. Bhatt in 7-D.  Yes.  Yes.  What are your options for steak?  Thank you.  What sizes are those?  Could I- The porterhouse, please?  Yes, the 16 ounce porterhouse.  Yes.  Two of them, please.  What?  Oh.  What is the difference?  Yes, I'm still here, sorry.  I'm just thinking.  Hold on, let me ask my boyfriend what he wants for his.  Hello, are you still there?  Yes.  We'll- yes, we'll both have them rare.  Oh, perfect, yes.  I- I may be in the shower, can you leave the order in front of the door, please?  Thank you.

[Recording Paused]

Fucking eggs.

[Recording Paused]

Thank you!  I'm just getting out of the shower!  Just leave the food by the door and I'll pick it up!

I hate lying but I'm not ready to be seen until I'm comfortable.  I hope, whoever you are, that you understand that.  Everything I've done so far has been out of fear rather than malicious deception.

I don't have steak knives.  The steak is sitting here on my kitchen counter and I don't have knives to cut it.  

Shit!

I just drooled on one of them.  

They smell so good.  I know pregnancy can cause changes in scents and cravings - is this something similar?  I just-  they look so good.  I can't stop looking at them.  

[Recording Paused]

I've reached a new low.  I don't know what came over me.  I kept staring at the steak and it's like my mind emptied.  I watched myself grab them with my bare hands.  My teeth cracked the bone in the first one.

They're sharper now.  My teeth are sharper now.  I don't- I don't know when it happened.  Possibly when I was eating.  I keep running my tongue over them, feeling their points.  My molars are spared but, barely. I can feel raised edges along the exteriors, as if they've tried to change.  The rest of them, even my incisors are no longer incisiform but shortened cuspids.  I can't completely close my mouth and I keep having to periodically suck in excess drool.

I'm still hungry.  I ate part of one of the bones when I was finished, gnawing on it to scrape off the flavor.

My face is sticky from the steak's juices and all I can think about is licking my hand, wiping my face and cleaning the juices from my fingers.

At this point, why not?  I already ate the meat.  I'm already that far gone, why not defile myself further by acting more bestial.  It would serve me right.  The only thing that would be worse is if I ate my own-

Subject [97.87% Confidence]: Dr. Hira Bhatt

Badge: Dr. Hira Bhatt

Voice [96.56% Confidence]: Verified

Timestamp: 1581318051539

I've requested priority access to the AI for sequencing on an- an anomaly in a tissue sample taken from subject R-33-2020-02-04-87-B.  Based on prior processing time, I'm estimating 5 hours of run time.

Work on new batches is halted until we've analyzed the results.  I'm hoping the results give insight into a new direction we can take with our testing.

Personal Audio Recording

Transcript: Disabled

Timestamp: 1581332712202

My fingers are swollen but it's worse around my fingertips.  The nails themselves are scarlet rather than white.  They're barely holding on and I can see the wrinkled flesh in the gap beneath the raised edges.  The itch under the skin is fierce.

I'm in a remote bathroom in a wing adjacent to my lab.  Most of these offices are empty here and the rest are new construction.  EndoTech is expanding.  For now, it's an ideal hiding place.

I can stop licking my lips.  I have thick glossy lipstick applied to hide my gray, scaly lips and I know I'll have to reapply it because I can't stop touching them with my tongue.  At least I can wear a face mask to hide my jaw.  Is it a maw now?  My molars are gone, reshaped into fangs that match the rest of my teeth.  It happened an hour ago while I was pacing in the lab.  I have to talk more slowly and swallow more often.  My voice has taken on a ragged edge that hurts my throat.

Everyone keeps to themselves and I already have a habit of looking down so nobody has noticed my eyes yet.  They're worse as well, a striking variegated amber coloring that's completely unnatural.

Several lengths of medical tape traps my straining tail, forcing it down between my-

It's distracting, twitching at the wrong times to remind me of its existence.  I'm wearing spandex pants for the first time.  It's a pair I bought before I moved here when I foolishly thought I would get into the habit of exercising daily.  As if I had time for that.  Now, I'm grateful for them.  I just have to be careful because they're stretched tightly over my thighs and I've been feeling a burning in my calves for the last hour.  I'm sure that precedes more changes.

I should check to see if the AI has finished.

Subject [94.87% Confidence]: ?Dr. Hira Bhatt

Badge: Dr. Hira Bhatt

Voice [91.56% Confidence]: ?Verified

Timestamp: 1581333542338

The tests- the tests are surprising.  They- um- excuse me.

[Recording Paused]

Results show 99.73% of the cells contain the- the altered DNA sequence.  Um.  Um.

Personal Audio Recording

Transcript: Disabled

Timestamp: 1581336529181

I tore my pants on the way home.  I couldn't stand to be there suddenly, in the lab, staring at the results.  I mumbled a rushed goodbye to Dr. Park before leaving.

It was around one of the small enclosed parks halfway to my apartment block where I fell.  I felt my calf muscles tearing in half and I drew blood when I bit my lips to hold back the scream.

Instead of screaming, I growled with my rasping voice and I'm grateful that the man who came to help didn't hear it.

The skin around my calves had grown rough since this morning.  They snagged at the legs of my pants, pulling and tearing throughout the day without my notice.  I can still feel the ghost of it, the worming, winding movement and the slicing caused by the expansion of my calf muscles.  The hardened, scaly skin cracked over swelling muscle.  I hid them the best I could with my hands so I felt the new flesh bunching and biting into my palm when the smooth skin grew ropey.

I thanked him and told him I'd be fine, waiting for him to leave so I could pull myself up with the help of the nearby bench.

There's an unhealthy gap from the top of my uncomfortable shoes to the bottom of where the pant legs would be because I've grown taller.  

I rushed home, surprising myself with my tottering, off balanced speed.  One small benefit of these new legs.

Steak is already on its way.  Three this time.  I forgot to give an excuse.  No pretending I have a boyfriend or a friend over or anything this time.  I just ordered it in a rush with a side of baked potatoes.  Four of them, slathered in butter and sour cream and bacon.

I'm starting to feel bloated again.  And hormonal.  It's taking too long for my food to get here and it's pissing me off.  My skin is itchy.  My whole face hurts.  I just feel so angry and I know I shouldn't but I can't help it.

I don't know how much longer I can pass for human.  I'm going to spend the rest of the day trying to come up with ideas and go in again tomorrow morning to try something new.  I just need to eat first.  It's hard to think through all of these cramps and the hunger and my clothes just feel so goddammit tight and the-

JUST LEAVE IT AT THE DOOR, FUCK!  No, I'm- I'm sorry, I'll- just- fuck!  Just leave it there!

[Recording Paused]

I lost some fingernails while eating.

I wish I could apologize to the delivery person.  I just got so angry and it came upon me so quickly.  Just a rapid onset of rage that was difficult, no, impossible to set aside.  

There's something primal about eating without utensils.  I thought for a moment to at least grab a fork but when I had the tray inside, I couldn't stop myself.  I just- I just bent over and tore into it.

I bit my tongue quite a few times but all that did was excite me.  The taste of blood.  It pushed me over the edge.  I- I blanked out for a moment or two and woke to eating the steak from the floor, not even on a plate.  And I couldn't stop myself.

Even worse, I enjoyed it.  I can't lie to myself.  The bone splintered in my mouth and I loved the sensation of cracking and grinding the shards into flavored mush.  It helped ease the aching in my jaw but that's not the reason why I did it.  Not the only reason.

And now the floor is a mess, smeared in juices and little strands of meat, red and gray and delicious and- and-

[Recording Paused]

I thought I'd reached the bottom last night and, I suppose I did in one barbarous way that I won't comment to a log of any kind, spoken or written.

It welled up within me.  Undeniable.  A throbbing in my head.  This loud buzzing that gripped my brain, pushing and pulling.  

I don't know where it ends and I begin.  

I cleaned the floor with my tongue.

I'm still hungry.

Personal Audio Recording

Transcript: Disabled

Timestamp: 1581357499823

I just realized that I forgot to finish my thought from earlier today.  There's too many distractions.  

My fingers.  All the fingernails are gone now.

I- I ate the ones that fell off.  Claws are replacing them.  My distal and middle phalanxes are stiff.  I can still bend my thumbs but the rest of my fingers aren't as dextrous.  The claws replacing the fingernails I lost when eating earlier are wider than my fingers, a little more than two centimeters.  They curve over the tip.

Tracing their growth, I can feel their attachment to the underlying bones and this is why my fingers aren't flexible.  They're anchored to the first two digits.  While the claws growing from my thumbs are broader, they're shorter.

They help with my itchiness but I can't hold my stylus well.  

The itch.  The fucking itch.  It's maddening.  I try to focus but the cramps are relentless, digging into my stomach in erratic pulses as the eggs grow inside of me.  My eggs.  It has to skip tonight.  I need to start tracking the schedule to find patterns but even our hens don't reliably lay eggs daily if we weren't hitting them without whatever hormones that team cooked up to keep them going.

Oh.  Oh, shit.

The injections are a multi-team work.  Are- did another fucking team build in hyperactive-

I can't take- I can't- I can't fucking take it!  The fucking itching is fucking-

[Recording Paused]

My apartment ish trasshed.  Wallsh.  Waaaallsssh.  Walls.  Sh.  Fashe hurtsh.  Everrything sshoundsh muffled.  

Waallsh.  Wallsh.

Wallsh.

Wuh.  Allsh.

Wuh.  Alls.

Walls.

Have to talk more sh- more slowly.  Head ish heavier.  Frontal plate dishtended.  Jaw is dish- distended, mandible and maxilla with overbite.  More teeth.

Can't feel my earsh.  Ears.  Lossh of sensitivity in fingertipsh.  Curved clawsh longer now.  Wider.  Hard to touch things with my fingersh.  Palmsh are covered in soft shcutes.  Scutes.  Tiny armored plating.  Feelsh good to rub the holesh where my earsh were.  

Ssshtrrrrangely, hair ish thicker.  Head keeps nodding under itsh own weight but I can already feel the burning of new mushcles growing.  Ssh-  Shterno- Sternocleidomash- Sternocleidomastoid and trapeziush.  Alrrrready tightening, aligning my denshe skull.

They'rrre coming.  Eggs.  Eggs.  Wet.  Harrrrd to think shtraight when it'sh happening.  Feelssh good now.  Feels good.  Lifting tail.  Desch- Descending.  Eggsh.  

MmmrrrrrrrRRRRRRR- YESSSSSSH!

Weak.  Muscles.  Orgasm too harrrrd.  Morrrrre coming.  

RRRRRAAAAAAHHHHHHH!

Food.  Hungry.  Food.  Two.  Two eggs.  Food.

[Recording Paused]

RRRAHH Loud!  Loud!  Can't sssheeee!

Target in sight!  

What is it- Oh, Jesus Christ, what is it doing to- is that a goddamn egg?  Is it-

Secure her!  Stop her!  Get her away from the other- Jesus!  Jesus Christ she's got my- she's bit my fucking leg off!  I'm fucking-!

Cease fire!  Cease fire!  Switch to tethers! Someone get Roberts away from-

It fucking tore him in half!  Oh fuck!  Oh fucking Christ!

Cease fucking fire you fucking asshole!  Hit her with the ultrasonic!  Hold her- hold her down-

The Spike!  Use the fucking-

---

I don't know what day it is, let alone what time.  I don't know how long I've been out.  They've got me strapped down to the floor with some kind of heat lamp above me.  Even my tail is tied down but at least it's covering my privacy.  Feels like concrete and it hurts my breasts.  It's cold beneath me.

It's hard to tell exactly but it looks like the walls are clear.  Not glass, obviously.  At least not true glass.  

Armed men stand in pools of light outside the chamber.  An armored vehicle sits among them with another security member manning some kind of wide device on the back of it.

I can't remember anything since the apartment.  When I was trying to go through some ideas- no, I remember grinding my body against the wall when my skin began to tighten into dense scales.  God, that was insane.  It felt like live fire ants tearing into my flesh.

Has to be morning.  Or early.  I don't feel very bloated.  Based on what I remember and my little hypothesis, the eggs come in the evening, flooding my body with hormones that push me into a rage.  I'll see if that holds.  I just have to stay awake to create a continuous timeline.

I'm getting hungry.

---

They lowered a giant slab of meat into the chamber.  It's barely cooked and I'm not even sure what it's from but I'm so hungry.  I don't care.  The cramping is getting worse and I'm getting annoyed.  Why can't they just let me talk to someone?  I'm lucid.  I'm rational.  I'm a fucking human despite-!  No.  I have to keep calm.  I have to.

A robot of some kind just detached. Spindly.  Pushing the meat to me.  Some muted click- aahhh- the straps holding my mouth disconnected.  I can breathe better.  Assholes.  They don't have to tie me down like some goddamn animal.  Just-

"Wherrrrre-" I try to say but my throat feels like it's stuffed full of razor blades.  

The security team raise their weapons as one and a red light begins blinking on the device attached to the vehicle.

Fuck them.  Fuck all of them.  How long have I been out?  The robot moves, shoving the food into my mouth like I'm some-

Calm.  Doesn't matter.  Calm.  I can eat like this.  I don't care if they watch.  I'm too hungry to care.

---

"Pin her down!  Fan out and pin her down!  Jeffers, arm the goddamn- Jeffers!  Hit her with it!"

"Sir, it broke the leg restraints!  It's trying to stand-"

"JEFFERS HIT HER WITH THE-"

---

Awake and asleep.  Awake and asleep.  It's harder to see through the walls.  I think they've changed the walls and there's two more vehicles now.

Something's coming.  

Is that-  Oh, no.  Dr. Bryce.  She's surrounded by a security team.  She looks scared.

"Sir, she's moving."

"Let the bitch move.  The restraints will hold this time."

There's another cell adjacent to mine and they're leading her to it, locking her in.  I'm held in place so I can't do anything other than stare at her.

I'm hungry again.

---

She's changing.  The bastards must've done something to Dr. Bryce.  Her maxilla is distended, ending in a curve reminiscent of a beak.  But the biggest change is a hardened plate growing from her skull.  They held her down to shave her head earlier this morning so the change is pronounced.  It begins above and behind one eye socket to grow in a flared semi-circle to her other eye socket.  Horns dot the perimeter.

---

She's masturbating.  Loudly.  Shit.  Why is she staring at me?  Stop- stop tearing your clothes-

Now that she's closer, I can see the nub of two horns above her eyes.  The bony plate has extended and her skin is wrinkled.  She's-  She's so loud with it.

On all fours now, with her ass slamming against the wall separating us.  She has a small tail.  Smearing her juices on the clear wall.

---

How many days have passed?

I can't see him but I heard another security team bring someone else in.  A man.  Dr. Brandt.  He was yelling and screaming and cursing.

Talking to myself too much lately.

Starting to feel aroused but there's no bloating.  No cramps.  It's always been when the eggs were coming.  Only then.  But now, now I'm just horny.  Want to touch myself.  

"Sir, Control says she's testing the restraints."

"They'll hold."

They should let Dr. Brandt in here.  Let my tail go.  He can- he could-

"Sir, urgent from Control.  They're reporting the restraint around her midsection is passing beyond- fuck, sir!  It-"

"I see it!  Don't panic!"

He could fuck me.  Yessss fertilize my eggss.  Cum inside of me.  Cum inside of me.  I'll go to him.  I'll go to-

---

Head hurts.  Can't move.  Wanna throw up.

---

Now that she's nude all the time, I can see how fast the changes are taking place on Dr. Bryce.  She's doubled in size easily.  Slamming her head against the wall over and over again while the security team discusses how to sedate her so they can restrain her.

I'll kill them all.

---

How many weeks has it been?  Months?  I see more cells like my own, filled with people.  Scientists like Dr. Brandt?  Prisoners conscripted into experiments?  I can't make out details but one is gigantic.  A woman, I think, with an absurdly long neck.  Already changing while the others watch in fear.

---

Something's happening.  The security team is panicking.  The ones surrounding my cells are rushing-

I can see him!  One of the new ones broke out! 

Where did it- there's a second one.  So fast.  The second one is a blur, tearing through the security team.  I can see what they're doing.  If the security would calm down, they'd see that they're being lead around, clumped together while more of us are freed to attack from different directions.

It's a slaughter, even with two of us going down under the mounted ADS.

A bulky creature separates from the group.  It's like some bony hybrid rhinoceros with tail spikes and a bulbous-  It's charging for my cell!  I need to help.  I need to get up.  Just- have- to-

I got my arm free!  They're short when compared to the rest of my body but the claws are deadly, slicing through the other straps until I can reach my feet.  

And then I'm on the ground, shaking my head.  There was a huge noise.  Oh, the rhino thing is backing up to charge again.  Before it does, I break the rest of my straps to get free and move away from the cracked wall.

A second charge shatters the wall and I'm free but the other creature isn't done yet.  I think it's enjoying charging and breaking things.  It runs awkwardly on all fours but it's powerful and-

Oh.  I'm so tall now.  When did that happen?  It's hard to tell exactly but I must be over two meters.  My massive lower body pushes my slimmer upper body forward, making it awkward to walk on strange clawed feet.  I can't correct my posture like I did before.  The muscle in my back refuses to work that way, causing pain whenever I try to stand up straight.

The creature charges and then trumpets when it breaks through Dr. Brandt's cell and- oh.  Oh, my.  He's even bigger than I am.

"Docterrr Brrrr," I struggle to say.  

I massage my throat.  I feel like it's been forever since I've spoken.

"Docterr Brrrandt," I finally say.

Oh no.  He's feral.  Almost feral.  His vertical slits narrow when he stalks to me and I feel a thread of fear but it's mixed with apprehension and a strange desire to- to- what?  Be recognized?  

He leans in with his strange head, almost human-like but distended and broad with dagger-like teeth.  He huffs when he sniffs me once, twice and then butts his head gently against me.

Until a stray bullet knicks his cheek, turning him.  He ROARS and it calls to something inside of me.  His anger explodes, dragging me down, down, DOWN and I roar with him, following his charge into the fray.

Everything goes red.

---

They're all dead.  The entire security team.

There's nineteen of us.  Twelve females and seven males.  All of us are alive but some are bleeding lightly.  We're tough, it appears.  The males are all of lower intelligence and I wonder what the difference is because the females seem mentally composed.  When I greet Dr. Bryce, she shows surprise, at least as much as she can with the limited facial expressions afforded by her long jaw and deadly, hooked maw.  She stutters when she tries to respond but hasn't yet worked out how to speak clearly.

She's smaller than I am and seems to defer to me.  All of the females do.  While the males-

Reinforcements will come quickly.  We have to move fast.  I butt against Dr. Brandt and he snaps but dips his head before butting back. He follows me but then leads until the- I don't know the species.  The battering ram from earlier.  He gets all excited when we reach the wide hangar doors.  Two females of the same species drop to all fours with him while we hang back, watching as they destroy the doors.

The hallway beyond is dark but flashing red lights accompany blaring klaxons, announcing our escape.  I don't recognize the area and I'm starting to think we're not in Nevada.

Dr. Brandt roars before rushing forward but he stops, turning to find me.  When he does, he dips his head.  His wide, thick tail sweeps the ground.  They all watch him while he waits for me to join him.

We can't run forever.  They'll overwhelm us, one-by-one until we're buried so deep, we'll never escape.  I'll need to find a computer with an outside line.  If I can find where we are and contact the media, sending information to everyone as quickly as possible, we'll stand a chance.  It'll be too much for them to contain, even when they recapture us.

To get our message out to as many people as quickly as possible.  

The rest follow respectfully behind Dr. Brandt and me as we begin to explore 

I just pray this will work.  It has to work.