"You do realize that you could change the world. If the serum works, it means that we have solved the mystery of cancer," stated the doctor in a matter-of-fact tone.
"What if the serum doesn't work? All these years and they still haven't gotten any farther. More cases are being diagnosed and more people are dying."
"Don't worry about that. Leave it to the professionals. What you need to worry about now is getting plenty of sleep, eating healthy, and staying stress-free. We need you to stay healthy before you get the serum. That way there is a better chance of success."
"But I'm not healthy," I protested "Things are only getting worse. Death is even closer than before. Why test it out on me? A sick patient who is doomed for failure. The cancer is too strong. My body cannot fight for much longer."
The doctor did not answer. Instead, he got up and picked up his clipboard. He walked briskly out of the room, never once looking back at the decaying young man on the hospital bed.
I looked up as I heard the heavy hospital door swing open. A tall, red-haired nurse came in with a tray.
In a hushed voice the nurse remarked, "Now Ekon. You haven't even drank a sip of your coffee. It's probably cold by now."
I looked down at the mug in my hands. I guess I had been daydreaming again. When you spend months in a hospital, eventually you get bored. With nothing left to do or excite me, I often am deep in thought. The past is the one thing that keeps me alive. The past was when I was strong enough to run miles a day, happy enough to sing songs around a campfire with my friends, inspired enough to go to college. Now, I was stuck in a room with white walls, a white tiled floor, a flat-screen TV, and a white hospital bed.
"Sorry. I guess I just wasn't in the mood for my coffee today," I replied weakly.
The nurse didn't answer me. She simply took my mug from me, set my tray down on my lap, told me to eat, and left the room.
Yet again, I was alone. I was always alone nowadays. They said I was healthy enough to get the serum now. If that was true, why did I feel worse than ever?
I guessed it was morning. I didn't know for sure. I always had curtains over my windows and the days seemed to go by in a blur. The same nurse that brought my breakfast to me every morning led me down a long, white hallway. Everything in this hospital was white. White walls, white floors, white chairs, white tables, white trays, white lab coats. It was almost blinding to my eyes at first, but I had slowly adjusted to the intensity of the lack of color.
I was led into a room. The nurse helped me sit on a white table that was pressed against the wall. She said I would sit here as the doctor gave me the serum. Then, she left and everything was silent. The silence was almost deafening. Bright lights shone down from the ceiling causing my eyes to squint.
Moments later, the door swung open and a tall, dark-haired young man entered the room and strode over to me. I hated his arrogance. I was foolish though. The young man wasn't really being arrogant. He was just trying to hurry along, but for some reason the way he looked at me bothered me. Even the way he breathed raised hairs on the back of my neck.
"Hello. My name is Dr. Capone. I'll be giving you your serum today. It will feel just like a regular flu shot. Nothing more, nothing less."
In an instant, he already had the syringe out and was readying himself to inject the serum into my arm. I guess the process was slower than I had thought. I tended to space out a lot.
Suddenly, I felt light-headed. He had already injected the serum into my system, but something felt wrong. Very wrong. Like something deep down inside of me had just been awakened.
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A few weeks later, after I had gotten released from the hospital, I quickly walked over to my black mustang. As soon as I saw it, I grinned. It had been so long since I had driven it. I opened the door, got in, and drove back home as fast as I could without speeding, which was only 70 mph if I didn't want to get a speeding ticket.
"Hurry up. You don't have much time left. Who cares about a stupid speeding ticket anyways. The police don't even know what they're doing."
I looked around confused trying to figure out who was speaking to me. There was no one in the car besides myself. I shook my head and drove the rest of the way home blasting the radio.
As I got home I felt a sharp pain in my chest and I realized I had developed a headache on the way home.
"Probably the stupid radio," I mumbled.
"Hurry up and go inside. It's too bright out here."
Shaking my head, I walked into the bathroom, washed my face, and headed to the kitchen to get a snack.
"Watch out...."
I looked around confused not understanding what was going on. I walked into the kitchen, quickly ate a snack, and headed to bed hoping a nap would get rid of my headache.
"If you fall asleep now you might never wake up again."
"Go away," I snapped.
"I can't. That's impossible."
"Make it possible."
"If I go away that means you go away too."
"That doesn't make any sense."
"Nothing ever makes sense."
Angrily, I buried my head under my pillow. My head felt like it was splitting open and I was having trouble breathing.
"Shut the shades. It's too bright in here."
Even though I was suddenly getting dizzy, I found myself listening to the voice. I shut the shades quickly and sat down on the bed. I closed my eyes, falling asleep sitting up.
"You must not fall asleep."
My eyes snapped open as I realized the voice was coming from my mouth. I was talking to myself, but somehow this voice was different. It was like I had no control over what I was saying.
Looking down at my hands, I found my skin was slowly changing to a dark purple. My vision was extremely blurry and I heard a high pitched ringing in my ears.
"Don't be afraid...."
I opened my mouth to scream, but what came out was not a scream at all. Instead, it was a cackle. I was cackling. I was cackling as I fell off the bed, trembling as waves of pain hit me. I felt stabbing pains in my back as I heard my shirt rip apart. Bones grew out of my back turning into black, velvety wings.
I forced myself up off the floor, and stumbled to the bathroom. My head was spinning and I tasted a foul taste in my mouth. I looked in the mirror and opened my mouth. Sharp, glinting fangs had taken the place of my canines. I licked the blood away from my lips and turned the sink faucet on. I splashed cold water onto my face, but it burned my skin and I stumbled backwards. The high pitched ringing in my ears got louder and I grabbed handfuls of my hair trying to hold onto my sanity.
"Wake up."
I jolted back to reality and looked at the nurse in the room. She was staring at me like I had just grown horns and a tail.
"It's just a flu shot. Nothing to worry about," she said in a calm, but hesitant voice.
