Genetics and Code

Virus Infected

"Morning, Amoi!" I jump. How do they know my name? Wait, where am I... A quick glance at the area shows that I'm not on the street anymore. The smell of fresh fryer oil hits me, but not as hard as the stench of onions. I look over and see one of my coworkers. I guess I made it to work?

"Morning..." I reply to him and try to figure out what I was doing. I was preparing onions. I'm assuming I am... There are two tubs full of diced onion with my initials on them. Though I really don't remember doing them. I need to see a doctor. Or get more sleep. I sure as hell can't afford a doctor. I can't think of what I need, but I need something. Has this been happening more often lately? Maybe... I need a break from everything.

"... Amoi?" I'm snapped out of my thoughts again. My boss is speaking to me this time. He's looking at me as though he asked something. I flick my eyes down to see if anything has changed. I'm not doing onions anymore... Instead, there are a few tubs of shredded lettuce.

"H-Huh? What's up..?" I speak up, hoping he doesn't get too upset about having to repeat himself.

"I was just saying, thank you for offering to pick up another day. It means a lot to know you can be reliable when you want to be." He gives me a hefty pat on the back, knocking me forward a bit. I willingly picked up a shift? ... I think I'm losing it. Something isn't right. I take off my gloves and rub my face. When I lower them I'm standing at the register. The clock in the dining room reads 11:35. I can feel my heart pick up the pace. There's no way that much time passed. I'm starting to wish I had brought my phone now. At least then I would know if this is really happening. Customers start to flood in. First just one, then a bunch, then a whole mass of them. I try to stay conscious as all of them start to speak to me at once.

"Yeah, could I get a..."

"No, thank you. I'll have..."

"Um... Just a water..."

"It's my first time ordering by myself..! Can I..."

Everything around me starts to blur. People turn into smears of color in my vision. They're moving so quickly that I don't even have time to decipher if my mind is playing tricks on me. Words all mesh together, the register's screen rapidly blinks and flashes through the different windows, and the clock is jumping forward by the minutes. My stomach starts to churn. I'm glad I didn't eat anything, it would have come up by now. I've only been standing for what feels like a minute, but the clock is reading 03:05.

I step away from the register and pinch myself. Ouch... I'm still in control of my own body... I'm not possessed or dreaming. I turn to one of the colors behind the counter with me.

"Hey, I'm going to go and use the bathroom real quick..." I mumble and go to leave. If it said something, I can't comprehend it over all of the noise. Moving through the kitchen I make it to the restroom and quickly lock myself in a stall. I sit down on the toilet and try to quickly think about what could have caused this. None of the usual viruses I take do this. I quickly close my eyes and attempt to run a diagnostics check on myself.

I keep my eyes closed and watch the progress bar slowly increase. Unlike everything outside of the restroom, it doesn't blink past in seconds. It doesn't take long for it to display the results of my body. My heart rate is high, my blood pressure is low, my perspiration high, my hunger is satiated... Everything else is... Fine? It didn't detect any viruses. What the hell? I also ate at some point during that time? I can't remember a thing, but I'm still working and taking care of myself?

I was out of every kind of virus though. I didn't take any Monochrome... I used the last of my Birds... I can't... I can feel a pit drop in my stomach. DFA. A new string of code that one of my friends gave me. She said it was still in its experimental stages. Something like falling asleep while you're awake and everything feels like a dream. Shit, how do I stop it? Better yet, why the hell did I take it, how long does it last? If my body can't detect it, then I can't target it with my AV.

Crap, how long have I been here? Multiple hours have probably passed, and my boss is going to be pissed. With a better understanding of the situation I put myself in, I head out of the stall and to the sink. I splash water on my face before washing my hands. My eyes meet my own in the mirror. I stare at the bright blue colors and start to notice how bad my hair looks. I never really brush it, the length really doesn't help hide that fact at all. Shaking my head I slap my cheeks to try and wake myself up and go back out to my post.

Once I make it back, a quick look at the clock reveals that only thirty minutes have passed. I breathe a small sigh of relief... It must be wearing off... I'm just glad that I know what's going on. ... On the bright side... My shift is already almost over... I don't remember a single part of it either... Heh... Maybe, after work, I should see if they have more of this new virus...