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 Posted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 4:12 pm
It had been one helluva week and, if anyone had asked, Dee would've meant it literally. New encounters, new revelations, and other charming developments had given her existence a whole 'nother level of Weird.
But at least it was interesting.
The 'normie' was currently busy tending to her feeders...cleaning out old seed, replacing orange halves, refilling hummingbird mixtures, etc. It was all very therapeutic. Dee replaces the cover on one of her scrap-wood seed feeders and gathers up her gear and excess seed. She was still using feed that she brought from home, as well as unsalted human-grade sunflower seeds...but soon she'd have to find another venue if she was to keep the birds coming to her front porch.
After cleaning up, she shuffles inside for a brief session of home-making, and perhaps a little work on her journal.
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Posted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 4:32 pm
To say Richard was have a bad day would be like telling some one a supernova was a little bang. What was worse was it was going to get worse. He had awoken from that awful dream, horribly shaken to find the red welt on his arm. He didn't remember going to bed. That really didn't matter. He was out of time and out of excuses. The newletter had to be done before this happened.
However the force of his fever would not allow him to concentrate on any thing at all. Mid afternoon he gave up. He would just have to print what he had. He needed to find Joli.
Richard managed to bind his chest and struggle into a suit before stumbling into the village. As soon has the jungle heat hit him every single sweat pore had pore opened full throttle. He was soaked by the time he made it over to Joli's duplex, or what he believed to be Joli's duplex. The sweat kept getting in his eyes.
So he stood out side Duplex 29. drenched with sweat and panting from the heat. A laptop clutched to his chest. He rapped on the door. "Joli!" he called.
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Posted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 4:39 pm
Just as Dee was sitting down to work there came a knock at her door. It was startling, being her first such visit since she arrived. Perhaps it was Sabin coming to tell her there had been a terrible mistake and that she could go home now. No harm done! Toodle-loo!
"Nice try, Dee," she chided herself and wriggled out of bed.
When she opened the door, she was surprised...to say the least. Another bizarre changed man stood there, but with his dapper suit and spectacles, he appeared much more distinguished than her previous encounters. "H-hello? Can I help you?"
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Posted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 4:49 pm
The woman that opened the door was not Joli, by a long shot. She was completely human! It had been so long since he had actually seen an unchanged person not in a Feral Labs uniform that at first Richard didn't believe his eyes, a look of utter surprise plastered on his feline face.
He stood there blinking as his jaw worked to utter some sort of reply, "Your not Joli." He uttered dumly. "Oh um sorry... miss?" The graying temples, her relatively young face and his feverish brain made it hard to determine Dee's age. He pushed his glasses up on his nose allowing him to make out the number on the door. "29" He had the wrong duplex!
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Posted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 5:00 pm
Dee flashed a gentle, if apprehensive, smile. "No, sir...Sorry. My name's Diane Creedwater. Most people call me 'Dee.'"
Another person surprised at *my* appearance? Well ain't *that* the height of irony?
As the woman leans forward and offers her hand in welcome, she gets a hint of Richard's less-than-stellar situation. "Just an honest mistake, I imagine...er..Are you allright, sir? You look awfully flushed..." ...and you've got tentacles and whiskers and you poor fellow. Just what the hell are they doing to you?
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Posted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 5:10 pm
"I'm Richard Harrison." Out of habit Richard extended his hand to grip Dee's it was burning hot, hot enough to make someone recoil if they weren't expecting it. As he did so his little arms reached out from under his coat to grip the laptop and crush it to his chest. They felt sore, it wasn't a good sign he didn't have much time left.
"Sorry I was looking for your next door neighbor," He smiled weakly. He ignored the flushed comment just like he was attempting to ignore the sickness that gripped his body.
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Posted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 5:18 pm
"It's nice to meet you, Richard," Dee replied, frowning in concern at the man's temperature. His little arms are a surprise, and remind her of Jordan's 'tummy paws.' Unfortunately, this fellow looks to be in even worse shape than the dog-man, and she isn't comfortable in talking about his changes until she's sure she's done as much as she can for him--if indeed he is ill. "But you're definitely burning up...please stay here a moment..." She ducked back inside, grabbing a fresh, cool bottle of water out of her mini-fridge, which she offers to him.
"And I've got some tylenol here somewhere, but I think you need to go see somebody other than my neighbor," she adds. "I...can call someone. Would you like to sit down?"
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Posted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 5:32 pm
"I'm... fine," Richard protested. "Don't bother..." but she had already stepped away. This wasn't good he could feel something build up inside him, a pressure on everything and nothing at the same time. At this rate he was going to change on his poor woman's door step.
He tried to take a step back but was rewarded by a wave of dizzyness that forced him to lean heavily against the door frame, claws digging into the trim. Numbly he accepted the bottle and gluped down the cool contents. He felt icey water fall down his throat and into his stomach. It set off a series of violent shivers that racked his body. He started to pant, literally, tongue just protruding out of his mouth. "It won't... do... any... good." He managed to wheeze between pants.
Oh god, not here! but try has he might, he couldn't move from the spot.
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Posted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 5:37 pm
"Of course it will do good...don't say that!" Now Dee was afraid. It appeared to her that Richard was having a heart attack. "Mr. Harrison? I need to get you help...this isn't right..." Wait, didn't she hear somewhere that taking aspirin the moment cardiac troubles set in can reduce the damages? s**t, I still have some Bayer, don't I?
"Oh damn, oh damn..."
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Posted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 5:51 pm
Richard doesn't quite hear Dee. That pressure gave a little pulse, sending heat blossoming in his limbs. One by one, black hairs began to appear on his hands and feet. His tentacles lashed about as Richard clung to the door frame.
"Noooo," It was a whimper, "Not again. Please." Tears had begun to well up in his eyes, which practically glowed green now. He looked a Dee, pleading. Trying to will her away.
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Posted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 6:01 pm
Dee's eyes widen as a certain terrifying realization began to set in. This man was not having a heart attack.
"Ohgod..." she gasped, taking a step backwards. Her gaze flew from one unearthly sight to another: the sprouting hair, the lashing tentacles, the glowing eyes... It all reminded her of a B-grade horror movie. She desperately wanted to wheel back and shut the door and, if her hands weren't shaking too badly, to call for help.
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Posted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 6:13 pm
Richard's eyes slammed shut as all the strength his legs disappeared, dumping him onto the floor, half of his body inside Dee's duplex. A strangled scream escaped his throat as the bones in his feet cracked and popped. His feet and toes lengthening, his big toe migrating upwards, the fur getting thicker.
Richard's laptop clatter to the floor as his little arms started to spasm. Jerking wildly. "AUGH!" Screamed through gritted teeth.
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Posted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 6:20 pm
Dee yelps and retreats into the duplex, scrambling around to the other side of the bed, closer to the phone. In her haste, she knocks into the bedstand, sending piles of books tumbling to the floor.
This is what the injections do, Dee. Don't look away, because this is what you've got to look forward to.
The sounds of the change, amplified by Richard's screams, are what horrify her the most. Nausea clamps down on her, and she fights the urge to become sick...
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Posted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 6:34 pm
The changes stop as Richard's hands, all four of them cease up, all the muscles in them spasm at once and stay tight. Richard stops screaming, exhausted and opens his eyes. He watches helplessly, his eyes flicking from hand to hand as his claws are engulf in flesh, the tips of his fingers bending and shifting. Meanwhile the little arms are thickening, stretching. He can't look away as the fingers on either side of the little hands CRACK! in rapid succession, the bones spliting in half, forming a two fingers on one side, a finger and a thumb on the other.
Then the facial expression freezes as the change begins to spread to his face.
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Posted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 6:44 pm
Dee can't look away, either...even if she wanted to. She swallows, her throat dry and painful. The injection site on her shoulder, which had lain dormant the past few days, seems to ache in sympathy towards the stricken islander. In contrast to her parched throat, her hands and face feel cold and slick with sweat...
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