Kyle's Crossroads

PART 1

Chapter 1

10:37 PM.

All was calm on the city streets. People were having fun, eating at restaurants in fancy clothes, taking their cars for a spin, all the normal hustle and bustle of any old city. Never would they have known of the very almost-illegal science that was being performed only blocks away. This was science that could change the way people view their bodies, their identities even. Not even a filet mignon could prepare them for tonight.

Wearing his regrets and past mistakes like the baseball cap on his head, Kyle Moore was on the point of a breakthrough. This would be sure to get attention. This would be a massive leap forward for the human race. The 5th ingredient for his concoction had been in the centrifuge for hours, the 14th ingredient distilling for over 3 weeks now. Everything was ready. The brown-purple liquid sat calmly in its vial. Run through the many machines in the laboratory funded by ponzi schemes, although it had been deemed safe for consumption, Kyle had his doubts. Not enough went wrong this time. He strolled over to the kitchen in the back, opened it and grabbed a can of his favorite soft drink. "Are people supposed to be this casual about things like this?" He thought to himself. Walking back to the laboratory table, he looked around at the large abandoned garage he'd been living in for weeks now. It was mind-blowing how the FBI hadn't found him yet. Sitting down, he popped the can open and poured the liquid through the small hole. A small vibration shook his hand , spilling some of the mix on the edges of the can. Putting the can down, he moved over to his notebook and scribbled "Haptic feedback upon contact with glucose". Standing up, he took a look at the can, and then the garage that surrounded him. "This is going to change everything" he said. He raised the drink to his lips and took the one sip that would change his life.

The liquid tasted like a bland version of the soft drink. His heart rate increased as he ran towards the bathroom and stared intensely in the mirror, but alas, only the same tired eyes he'd known his entire life stared back at him.

He hung his head, his heart pounding harder with the growing frustration in his chest.

Swinging his fist, he slammed the table, recoiling from the pain of the chemical burns from past tests. Wait... why was that so loud? He felt like screaming at his reflection, but he couldn't risk anyone hearing him.

He turned around and flipped the switch, but when he reached for the doorknob, a large, red, muscular arm grabbed it instead. "What the hell?" he thought. His vision was blurring. He looked back and saw a crack spidering down the edge of his bathroom sink. "Maybe I went too hard on that Heineken last night..." he thought. He had just enough time to turn around and see a large red demonic figure in the bathroom mirror before he said "is this hell?" and collapsed in the bathroom doorway, vomiting all over the ceramic floor tiles. "WHAT'S GOING ON???" He screamed inside his head. He felt a strange ripping and pushing sensation on his back. He was vomiting his guts out, but feeling better and better as he did. Feebly reaching up to the sink, he grabbed the edge and pulled himself up. He... could almost stand? No, he could stand just fine! He felt better than he had in years!-- wait... he couldn't see both frames of the door before... He spun around and almost fainted at what he saw. A 7.5ft muscular winged dragon-version of himself stared back at him in the mirror, although his moment of pride was ruined by quickly seeing the mess around him. He looked around, and saw red and blue lights reflecting off of the nearby buildings. Running toward the exit door, he jumped for the doorknob realizing he was going too fast to wait for it to turn. Instinctively, he turned his shoulder to brace for impact and knocked the entire door off its hinges, demolishing that corner of the old garage. Standing stunned among the smoke and fire that surrounded him, he snapped back to his senses and looked for any paths of escape, anywhere that would take him from this nightmare.