As I lay strapped to the cold metal bed, the quiet hum of machinery buzzed around me, punctuated only by the steady beeping of monitors. The room was bright, starkly so, with fluorescent lights casting everything in a sterile, clinical white. It was strange, lying here in this small, glass-walled cell, knowing that any second now, something irreversible was going to happen. Something that would alter me down to my very DNA.
My heart thudded heavily in my chest, each beat echoing through my body, amplified by the silence. I tried to steady my breathing, focusing on the rhythmic rise and fall of my chest. But my mind wouldn't quiet. I kept thinking of all the things I hadn't done, all the moments I might miss if this didn't go the way I hoped.
I thought about Linda. Her last smile, that gentle kiss on my cheek right before I walked through the door. The feel of her hand on mine, soft and warm, when she read my palm. I clung to those memories, anchoring myself with them, trying to ignore the growing anxiety gnawing at the back of my mind.
Then, Dr. Hayes's voice crackled over the intercom, calm but firm. "Kevin, the treatment will begin shortly. Remember, there may be some initial discomfort. We'll monitor your vitals throughout."
I gave a slow nod, though I doubted he could see me through the glass. My fingers clenched against the restraints, and I could feel the sweat gathering on my palms. The clock on the wall ticked loudly, each second dragging out longer than the last.
I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and let my thoughts drift. It was too late to back out now. All I could do was wait... and hope.
**Hour 1**
It begins slowly, barely noticeable at first. A slight warmth spreads across my chest, a hint of something wrong. At first, it's just an irritation—a heaviness in the air, a dull ache in my muscles. But it's growing, stretching out from my insides. I try to ignore it, to brush it off as exhaustion, but the pain deepens. Something is stirring beneath my skin, as if my body is shifting against me.
**Hour 2**
The warmth turns to heat, a fever building inside me, making my skin feel tight. The pressure in my skull starts to build, a thudding pulse that matches my heartbeat. Sweat beads on my brow, soaking through my clothes. I'm shaking now, my limbs twitching involuntarily, like I've lost control. Every movement feels wrong, awkward. My vision blurs. There's no reason for it, no understanding—just a gnawing sensation creeping through my bones.
**Hour 3**
The pain sharpens, becoming a steady, relentless throb. My body aches from the inside out. The heat deepens, now unbearable, making it feel like my very flesh is being cooked. The nerves in my arms and legs feel alive, twitching against my will, sending shooting pains through my joints. It's not just physical anymore; there's a sense of something slipping away, a sense of disconnection. I feel it in my thoughts—fuzzy, unfocused, like I'm forgetting something important.
**Hour 4**
Now, it's as if my body is being pulled apart. The skin feels tight, stretched too thin, while something inside me churns—growing, shifting, twisting. My thoughts come in bursts, fractured fragments that make no sense. I try to scream, to cry for help, but my mouth barely opens. It's as if the muscles no longer obey me. My teeth ache as if they're changing, growing sharper. The hunger starts to gnaw, deep in my gut, a foreign sensation I can't place.
**Hour 5**
My body is no longer mine. My muscles tense and cramp, unrecognizable. The skin on my arms begins to tear, small cracks appearing, exposing raw, red flesh beneath. I feel a deep gnawing at the back of my throat, a compulsion to bite, to tear. But I can't—no part of me can remember why. The fever is overwhelming now, and I can barely stay conscious as everything around me shifts out of focus.
**Hour 6**
The pain is unbearable. I can hear the bones in my body groaning, shifting in ways they shouldn't. The hunger is stronger now, a gnawing emptiness that drowns all thought. My teeth ache as they sharpen, pushing out from my gums like something alien, unstoppable. The thoughts in my head are fading, slipping further away. I struggle to hold onto them, but it's useless. The world feels distant, muffled.
**Hour 7**
I am no longer in control. My senses have dulled—sight, sound, touch—everything is clouded, distorted. The hunger dominates everything, overpowering any trace of thought. My hands twitch, flexing uncontrollably, claws now. My skin is a patchwork of raw flesh and decaying tissue, sickly and grey. I hear my breathing, ragged and laboured, but it feels wrong. My breath no longer belongs to me, but to something else. The pain is replaced with a gnawing emptiness. I can't remember why I feel this way, only that it hurts. But the hunger—, it's all I can think about.
**Hour 8**
I don't know where I am anymore. I barely recognize my own voice when I try to speak. My mouth is slack, my jaw hanging slightly ajar as if it no longer knows how to close. The hunger has taken over. It's the only thing left inside me. I can feel my limbs moving without my command, mindlessly reaching, grasping. My senses are distorted—faint sounds and smells flood my brain, overwhelming and confusing.
**Hour 9**
The treatment is almost complete. The last fragments of my humanity have been stripped away, leaving nothing but a hollow shell. My mind is a jumbled mess of incoherent thoughts—flashes of the past, of people I loved, all fading away. My eyes are empty, blackened, and cold. I can barely remember who I was, what I was. All that remains is the hunger, a deep, uncontrollable craving that fills me.
**Hour 10**
It's over now. I am no longer the person I was. I don't even remember my name. The pain is gone, replaced by an insatiable thirst for flesh. My senses are heightened, more primal than ever. I move through the world without thought, only instinct. The hunger is my only purpose. I don't know what happened to the man I was, but I can feel him—faint, distant, like a whisper in my mind. It's gone now. I am something else. Something worse. And I am hungry.
The world was a blur of red and white, an overwhelming haze of fractured shapes and distorted sounds. I could barely see, barely think—just a jumble of raw impulses and sensations pressing against the inside of my skull. My body felt heavy, like it was weighed down by something beyond exhaustion, yet I could feel a wild, primal energy thrumming under my skin.
A door opened. I didn't know who had come in, only that there was someone here, something alive. The smell hit me like a shockwave, sharp and enticing, stirring a hunger so deep it drowned everything else. I felt my muscles strain against the straps as an unstoppable urge surged through me, overpowering what little thought remained. My bones groaned as I twisted, pulling hard against the restraints, feeling them creak and strain.
I didn't know how I managed to break free. It was like my body was acting on its own, stronger than I'd ever felt it before. My wrists slipped from the bindings, and suddenly I was moving, launching myself forward with a speed I didn't recognize. I was driven by a need, an instinct that pulsed within me, filling my veins with fire.
The person in front of me tried to back away, but I was on them in seconds, my vision narrowing to a pinpoint of red. My hands moved of their own accord, tearing, grabbing, claws digging in as my teeth found their mark. Blood filled my senses, metallic and warm, overpowering every other feeling. I could hear distant, muffled screams, but they barely registered. There was no thought, no hesitation—just hunger.
I didn't know who I was or what I was doing. All I knew was the taste of blood, the release of tension, the throbbing satisfaction as I tore into the flesh beneath my hands. It was an impulse I couldn't control, an urge so fierce that it eclipsed any trace of sanity.
As I sank deeper into the haze, everything started to blur, the colours and shapes smearing together until the world went dark. My body slumped, the energy draining out of me as quickly as it had come, leaving only an empty, hollow exhaustion. I felt myself slipping, my vision narrowing to darkness as consciousness faded.
The last thing I sensed was the warmth of blood on my skin and the distant echo of a scream before I passed out, sinking into a void of red-stained shadows.
YOU ARE READING
Zombie Guy
Science FictionKevin's life changes the day he becomes the first test subject in a groundbreaking experiment to rewrite his very DNA. Hoping to cure his terminal illness, he volunteers for a treatment promising the impossible-a second chance at life. But as the ho...
