Jeff felt an emmense desire to swim, and even though it was a cold winter day, the nearby frozen over pond called to him. So he grabbed the pick his father used for ice finishing and ran barefoot out into the snow. He noticed the snow collecting on the webbing between his long toes. He shook it off, he hadn't noticed the webbing before, but figured it would help him swim. As he raised the pick to crack the ice, he saw that his long fingers were similarly webbed. He swung the axe and he cracked the ice. He shivered as his body became slick with sweat from his labor, but he now had a man-sized hole in the ice.
Jeff grinned as flecks of frost formed and melted on his skin. He ran his webbed fingers over his damp scalp, and found his remaining hair had come loose. He was now completely bald. His new ears had been smaller than before, but they continued to shink and were now flushe with his skull. He dove into the water. A jolt when through his warm body as it adjusted to the cold of the pond. He took a mouthful of water and felt it brush through his gills. He did a breast stroke deep toward the warmer depths of the pond's bottom. The warm mud called to Jeff as he skimmed the bottom of the pond behind his house. The chronivac kept ticking, and then a red window opened up.
SUBJECT ENTERING HIBERNATION, SUSPEND DURATION TIME UNTIL HIBERNATION IS COMPLETED. CONTINUING PERFECTING SUBJECT AS ULTIMATE SWIMMER AS HIBERNATION CONTINUES.
Jeff used his arms and legs to bury himself in the mud, and his mind slept deep at the bottom the pond. As he slept his skin changed becoming more rubbery, and his thighs grew larger and more pronounced.