"Brad? You here, man?" Cole called out, his deep voice echoing through the kitchen. Brad remained silent, holding his breath, praying that his neighbor wouldn't discover him.
As Cole stepped further into the kitchen, Brad’s eyes widened as he took in the sight of his neighbor's muscular back, the play of light and shadow across his skin. He felt a thrill of excitement, a rush of adrenaline. He was hidden, unseen, a secret voyeur in his own home.
Brad made his decision, hovering silently in the window frame as Cole began to search the house. He would stay, for now. He would watch, and admire, and revel in his newfound power of invisibility. After all, when would he ever get a chance like this again? To see his neighbor, his friend, in such an intimate, unguarded moment? His buzzing softened, becoming almost imperceptible as he settled in to watch, his eyes glued to every movement of Cole's muscular form.
Of course, Cole wasn’t content to stay put, and his wanderings took him from room to room as a tiny fly followed in his wake.
Cole picked up the Chronivac and examined the device. As he did so, a fly disturbed him, buzzing around his shoulders, but a casual wallop with the back of his hand drove the pest away. He placed the device back on the table and continued to explore.
Of course, Cole had no way to know of the implications of his thoughtless action to swat the irritating flying pest.
When Cole's hand swung out, knocking Brad for a loop, the housefly let out a cry of dismay. He tumbled through the air, his wings beating frantically as he struggled to right himself. For a moment, he was blinded by the sudden motion, disoriented and afraid.
"No!" Brad wanted to scream, to shout, to do anything to stop his neighbor from doing anything else that could endanger him. But all he could manage was a desperate, frantic buzzing, a sound that was drowned out by the sudden silence of the lab.
Trapped in the body of a housefly, Brad buzzed frantically, circling Cole's head like a tiny, angry hornet. He wanted to berate his neighbor, to scream and shout and pound against his chest until he left the house and Brad could wait for Mark’s return in peace. But all he could do was hover and buzz, a tiny, helpless speck in the vast expanse of the world.
As the minutes ticked by, Brads desperation grew. He was trapped, exiled in this tiny, fragile form, with no way to communicate. Where was Mark? He had no idea how much longer his husband might be.