NOTE: This should go without saying, but after this chapter, feel free
to branch off in whatever direction. From this point on, I'd really
like to see various possibilities of what happens next, and tons of
options for everyone to enjoy.
"Wait a second, what do you mea-" Cale's voice was cut short as a
sudden sharp pain struck him from inside. It felt like what he guessed
a heart attack would feel like, and he instinctively bent forward,
wrapping his arms around himself, before he collapsed to the ground,
gasping for air and grunting in agony.
"Oh! Dang, it looks like it's already started affecting you. I guess
the increased stress on your mind is giving you a head-start there.
That's probably my fault. Well... my bad!" Ani apologized cheerfully
as she knelt down next to Cale.
"Hey! You two! By the tree! What's going on over there?" A deep voice
rose out above the sound of the crowd, and both Cale and Ani looked up
to see a large male security officer approaching.
Ani sighed. "Double dang. I was really hoping we wouldn't have anyone
intruding on this. I hate when others interrupt." She stood up, and
faced the officer, her face suddenly taking a more serious tone.
"Young lady, I need an answer. Didn't you two hear? Campus evacuat-
Hey, wait a sec. What happened to him? Is he alright?" The officer
bent down beside Cale and started to raise his hand.
"Hey, are you alright? I can get a medical technician over here if
need be."
"DON'T TOUCH HIM."
Ani's voice boomed, unlike anything Cale had heard before, and the
rising arm froze in place. The voice had such authority to it, such
power, that Cale found himself suddenly shaken to his core.
"NOW, RISE BACK UP, AND GO BACK TO WHAT YOU WERE DOING PRIOR TO SEEING
US HERE." Ani commanded, raising her own arm, and pointing toward
where the Security officer had come from.
He stood up, and just as commanded, found himself backing away toward
where Ani had indicated. The officer didn't speak a word. In fact, his
face seemed suddenly blank and expressionless. He soon turned and
disappeared into the crowd of students still hurrying toward the North
side of campus. What was stranger, was the fact that not a single
individual other than the three of them seemed to have heard a thing,
or for that matter, even noticed that anything had happened.
In the midst of his pain, Cale managed to raise his head slightly and
turn it to where he could get a direct look at Ani.
"Who... what... are you?" He asked.
Ani's expression suddenly seemed to soften again.
"For now, let's just call me your guardian angel, sent here to make
sure you make it through all this, m'kay?" She said, before kneeling
again by Cale's side, and lifting up the backside of his shirt to
reveal a small, strange, black mark in the middle of his lower back.
"Just as I thought; it’s phase two alright. No doubt about it."
She adjusted her body to where she could talk better to Cale, face to
face.
"Alright, I need you to really listen, because I'm only gonna have
time to tell you this once for sure. After this, there’s no telling if
you’ll understand me."
Cale let out a sharp exhale, before sucking air in again, obviously in
pain.
"My... my body..."
Ani placed her hand on his head and moved it slightly, rubbing his
hair gently.
"You poor soul... It must be unimaginable right now. But as of this
moment, I can't do anything for you about the pain. In a bit, I'll be
able to do more, but you'll have to endure until then."
"My body... it's killing me."
"No, no. It's not going to kill you. I would never let it do that.
It's just having a hard time adjusting to the change. You're the first
to experience this, but everyone else should have this experience soon
as well, probably within the next hour or so." Ani explained, before
letting her tone change from sympathetic, to purely explanatory.
"You're whole being is changing. Your body, and possibly your mind,
are changing, and soon, you'll be the first changed individual on the
entire planet. This place was last for stage 1, so it's naturally the
first for stage 2, for the sake of being fair and all. I can't tell
you what exactly you're changing into, since you haven't gotten that
far for me to make that much out yet, but we'll find out soon, and I
can kinda give you a guide from there. If I'm right about this, the
first thing to really show on the outside should be..."
"GAAAAH! My hands!!!! They're burning!!!!" Cale screamed as he started
writhing around.
"...the fore limbs." Ani finished, as she reached forward and held
Cale still, grabbing for one of his arms. She managed to pull one of
his arms away from his fetal positioned body, and placed it out in
front of them to where they could both see it better.
It was now...