The next morning, Jen woke up with the same taste in her mouth as yesterday, despite brushing before bed last night. As well, the itch had gone down in scale, but spread to a couple of new spots. Cursing whatever was causing the itch, Jen got up and headed to the bathroom to get dressed and start her day. In the mirror, she caught herself rubbing her neck again....but it seemed a little swollen....like her neck was somehow a bit thicker. She also caught site of a dried bit of drool on her lip corner, which she quickly cleaned up.
After getting dressed, and concealing the itchy spots as best she could, Jen headed for school like normal...like everything was normal....
Over the course of the next week though, she would come to discover that her days were anything but normal. Day after day, her neck skin felt looser and looser, while her neck itself continued to feel thicker. The black spots continued to spread slowly, despite her best efforts to pluck the small 'hairs', and the taste in her mouth persisted, even after eating and brushing.
It wasn't until Wednesday, that she was actually starting to worry, as another news report video was circulating the school. The guy from the last report, who was now known as patient zero, had continued to rapidly decline in health...and appearance. His chest had swollen a large amount, and strangely, his nipples had disappeared. The hairs from before had multiplied wildly, and now covered a good portion of his chest and upper belly. His face though...that was what had caused Jen to gasp when she saw it....The mans mouth below the nose, had swollen an incredible amount, and had pushed forward a bit. His mouth had begun to turn vertically, and there was a clear fluid dripping from his mouth whenever he spoke.
It was after the interview, that Jen wasn't exactly paying attention to, that the newscaster made a small announcement. "Due to the nature of this sickness, and where examiners are predicting it's heading, we will not be able to show further visual progression of this new condition, but scientists have found a name for it: C.D.S. Or, Congenital, Dickhead, Syndrome. So far, only about twelve cases have been reported worldwide, with that number expected to grow. Doctors are advising anyone experiencing coughing, fatigue, unusual itchiness, or a stiff neck, to report to your physician immediately."
Jen couldn't believe what she was hearing....she absently rubbed at the loose skin on her neck as if it would start telling her answers, but all she got were some strange looks from her fellow students. Realizing that she might be thought of as having this...CDS, she ran from school and started heading home...she'd make up some sort of story to tell her mother later.
Over the next day, Jen began to experience more and more of her alarming new symptoms, including more itchy spots and more hairs. They actually began to hurt as she plucked them, noticing that they were starting to get longer....She couldn't wait until the morning for her checkup...