Dog Boy

52

Ashley was not nearly as fast as I had been changing back - but like me, she had inexplicably changed back into her normal human self.

After another moment of hugs, Mom and Dad suggested that we both get some clothes on - which I was more than thrilled to agree to. A few minutes later, and we all finally were able to sit down in the family room, and process what had just happened. Gosh it felt good to wear clothes again, even if my pants and underwear had an uncomfortable hole in the back.

Even when we were all back together, no words were exchanged for a while. We just sat there, breathing slow and deep, trying to process what had happened. Dad stared at the ceiling in a daze. Mom put away the dog bowls and beds. Ashley sat on the couch, rubbing her smooth arms. And on the other side of the couch, I leaned into Jackie's embrace.

"I just... I just can't believe it," Dad broke the silence that had lasted for several minutes. "You just... you changed so quickly! And in contrast to what we'd seen previously, it looked like it wasn't really all that painful."

I shook my head - which felt really weird without my ears flopping around. "It didn't... at least physically anyway." I put my hand against my head. "Gosh I've got an awful headache."

"You said it," Ashley said with a groan.

I laid back against the couch for a moment, closing my eyes. Mom got my attention, and I sat up to find her offering me a glass of water and Ibuprofen.

"Thanks," I said, downing the pills.

I groaned, and licked my - I stopped. I wasn't able to. I didn't have a long dog tongue anymore, or a snout. Reaching the best I could, my tongue still was a few centimeters below my nose. It had never been so short. It felt... unnatural, even though I knew from a life of people reacting to it, that my previously long tongue had been far more unnatural to others.

Jackie giggled at my failed attempt, squeezing my hand.

"This...," Dad said. "I just... I don't know how this could've happened. It's like... you took control."

"Of the virus?" I asked.

"No...," Dad said, "the nanoparticles... we found out that Seth put them into you, and then we unlocked them, but weren't... wait. Oh my gosh."

"Dad I can't read your thoughts," I said.

"But the particles can," he said with excitement. "Or I suppose, in a way. We tried to control the nanoparticles, but the signal was interrupted, interrupted by something else - the signal from your brain."

"Our... brains?" Ashley asked.

"It's going to take a lot of investigation," Dad said. "But... wow. I'm just... wow."

I placed my hand against my forehead - my very smooth forehead. Gosh that felt weird. My head still hurt bad.

"Augh... my memory of the past month...," I said. "It's really cloudy. Is this how it feels to get drunk, or wake up from a coma? Both sound really not fun."

"I think," Mom said, "that you and Ashley probably could use some rest."

"Yes," I said.

"Hear hear," Ashley agreed.

I glanced to Jackie. She smiled, and I could see in her eyes that in her own way, she desperately needed that too.

****

"So...," Jackie asked, "what was it like... just... all of it?"

We sat at her house, idly playing Stardew Valley. Her Mom had been overjoyed to see me, and was now, despite my protests, planning on ordering pizza and inviting my family over. I blinked at the screen, trying my best to run through how to play again. I hoped it was just because I hadn't played in a while, and not anything to do with my awful change. Physically playing it even was hard, as all the muscle memory I'd figured out on the Switch was when I'd had finger pads.