Mark and Danny went to the showers in the gym to clean themselves after their workout. Mark stripped down as
normal and got under the water before shampooing his long beard, the bottom half of it completely grey. Now
that he was 40, his muscular body was starting to soften, although his thick body hair, also getting a hint of
grey, made it hard to make out the muscles underneath in the first place. Washing the suds out of his beard,
he wondered whether the Chronivac could make it longer. It was already half a foot long yet he wanted it to
reach its terminal length. He might look a bit ridiculous with such a beard but it couldn't hurt to try. He'd
have to get around to it after helping Danny. Speaking of which, he looked over at the man who was now older
than him now. Danny was reluctant to get into the shower at first, but now he was under the water and
lathering up his fatter body which was just as hairy as anyone else in their family. He now had a full beard
that was slowly getting longer, currently reaching about 2 inches off the chin. The majority of it was grey in
colour, and the same could be said for the ring of hair around his head, his crown was practically the only
place on his body devoid of hair at all. He looked uncomfortable with his body, like it was foreign to him.
Mark felt for the man. Maybe he shouldn't of changed his awareness in the first place. It must be terrible to
be constantly changing without knowing why. Of course, Mark had shown him exactly why and yet he just ignored
it, assuming it was a video game despite the fact he made a change to himself.
Mark had finished cleaning himself and went to get changed, patting Danny on his hairy back to let him know.
Danny nodded and followed him out, not wanting to spend another minute in the building filled with fit,
healthy men. He knew he used to be just as in shape as they were when he arrived, and now he was as fat as his
dad, who used to be his grandpa. Yet at the same time, he felt like he was always 44 and everything else was
an illusion. It was easier to just pretend he wasn't aging at an advanced rate, no matter how obvious it was
to him. Nobody else seemed to notice it anyway, all except for Mark that is. In the morning, the man used to
be his uncle, he was sure of it, but now he was his brother. His younger brother. He envied him, wishing he
could look as good as he did at his age. Sure the beard was getting out of hand, but he wasn't one to talk as
it seemed his own facial hair was starting to grow wildly. And he wished he was muscular like him. Even when
he was 40, he had a round gut that started to hang over his waistband. Maybe that programme his brother showed
him actually worked. It would explain why he felt this way. They had to get home quick before he was his dad's
age. Then he felt a weird shudder that only affected his face. Mark was staring at him like he was deformed.
In fact, Danny's facial features were changing, his nose slightly bigger, his lips a bit thinner, his eyes
became a darker shade, the shape of his face got subtly rounder. He had lost the small details that made him
Simon's son, now resembling Bryan more. Mark couldn't believe it, the man was his nephew this morning and now
he was his uncle! Danny was going through a similar state of disbelief, now that his brother used to be his
grandfather the day before. The speed they got dressed at noticeably sped up and they were out of the gym
within a couple of minutes. Danny got behind the wheel in the car, the seat somehow already adjusted for his
increased bulk, and started it up before he realised his eyesight had worsened since the last time he'd
driven. Grumbling to himself, he dug through the glove compartment and pulled out a pair of glasses that he
used for driving. He adjusted the mirrors, getting a glimpse of himself at one point looking like he had been
middle aged for a while now. He felt a twinge of despair, hoping it'll all be over soon.
He pulled out of the car park and joined the highway. About a third of the way into their journey, they'd
ended up in one of the road's infamous traffic jams. He punched the steering wheel in anger. Of all the times
to get a traffic jam it had to be the day he was rapidly aging to death! They'd once sat in traffic for 4
hours before. He remembered Mark got out and jogged the rest of the way, leaving him to wait it out by
himself. But how could he remember that day if he had spent the previous 2 hours almost doubling in age? His
head was throbbing from the influx of memories competing with the perception of his changes. If they didn't
get this sorted soon, he might do something he'd regret. Anything to get peace of mind. Mark was worried as
well. He knew that Danny was 48 now and these traffic jams tended to last an hour at this time of day. By the
time they got home, he'd probably be Simon's age. He glanced over at his uncle. He had grown even heftier now,
a good amount of fat bulging over his jeans and resting in his lap. He hadn't reached his original dad, Jay's
size yet but he had definitely surpassed his old replacement dad, Simon, in heftiness. However given his
height, which was a good 4 or 5 inches taller than himself, he might actually weigh the same as Jay. Danny's
beard was rivalling his own now, and he was combing his fingers through it in frustration, both at the traffic
jam and his aging predicament. It was completely grey and starting to verge on white. He had a pair of glasses
perched on his nose, originally to help him see better while driving, but now they were a permanent pair,
rarely ever leaving his face.
Mark really wished he could help Danny right now, but the only person who knew about the Chronivac, now that
he'd made Jay unaware, was his dad. At least he assumed he knew about it. It was in his bedroom after all. Yet
he didn't know how the old man would react after hearing of the changes he'd made. Simon might end up fixing
everything and he didn't want to be an awkward teenager again. Was his new-found maturity worth Danny going
through this mental torment as he achieved even more maturity? They were already starting to move, but they'd
been deceived by that before. He turned to look at the hefty man who looked stressed as anything. Danny also
turned to look at his nephew and gave him a smile he hoped looked reassuring but ended up obscured by the hair
covering his face. They started to move again, only to stop after a yard. It was going to be a while.