The Underbelly

On Harry Renard's fifty-fifth Birthday he awakes to find that his face has been encased in a black cloud, which he thinks is odd because it had not been there the night before. On inspecting this strange phenomenon, Harry realises that he can just about see out through the dark mist, but his face is completely obscured from the outside. Unsure of what to do but worried that if he is late for work again, on yet another gloomy Monday morning, his juvenile boss Tarquin Stark will finally have a reason to dismiss him. On arriving at the office Harry is surprised to find the cloud has expanded to engulf his whole head, but why does no one else in the office seem to notice?

UNDERBELLY
[n.] singular

The soft underside or abdomen of a mammal.
An area vulnerable to attack.
A dark, hidden part of society.

Trigger Warning, This story contains themes of Bullying, Suicide and Self-harm