Day Thirty-Eight

Day 38: 08 Sep 2010

Woke up this morning feeling different. I'd been exhausted for days, but now, I was full of energy.

Also, I woke up standing, which was kind of a dead give-away that something had changed.

I wasn't alone in my own body anymore. I knew it as soon as my eyes opened. Sometime during the night, they'd implanted the slug while I was sleeping. I was angry, but. . .

But I also felt great. Strong. Fast. Heavy, but light on my feet -- massive. And hungry.

Mr. William came in seconds later. He wore a smile on his face and a $3000 suit on the rest of him.

"Ah, awake finally. How do you feel?"

"Hungry," I said. My voice sounded weird -- raw and raspy. Talking was hard.

"This I thought might happen. See the breakfast I have brought you."

He opened the door, and one of the Chinese guys walked in with a plate piled high with uncooked steak. He set it down on the table. Before I realized what was happening, I was tearing them apart with my bare hands and shoving them down my throat.

"Excellent. Eat up. Only a very short time will you be awake each day for a while -- you will need to feed yourself heavily before you sleep."

I wanted to say something back, but the desire to eat -- to feed -- was much stronger than the desire to talk. Mr. William left. I finished off all of the steaks -- even ate the bones -- and sat down on the bed. In moments, I was asleep.

* * *

Dreaming. Or not. Wasn't sure.

Something trying to speak. To communicate. Its words -- not words, they were nonverbal -- made no sense. Sounds of screeching and wailing. Should have been unpleasant, but wasn't -- comforting. Relaxing. Like humid Florida summer air.

One sound repeated in the chaos. A name? A question I couldn't answer? The sound was all consonants. Unpronounceable. But. . . angry.

Then, no more dreaming. Just quiet, and calm.