Blaze

by Maddie V

 

"Hey, Robert, can you take my Med Runner intro class this afternoon? I have a lunch date with Heather," Dr. Smith asked.

"Sure, but you owe me one, Jack," Robert answered.

"Just add it to my tab. I've lost count how many I owe you."

"Don't worry, I'm keeping track."

"I wouldn't expect any less from a friend," Jack grinned then left.

Dr. Robert Stevens is the head of Skycenter Medical's Metabolic Transformation ward. He was one of the pioneering doctors in metabolic transformation and probably knew more about RV281 and its affects than any other person on the planet. Many doctors of his stature would have scoffed at being asked to teach a basic Intro class, but Dr. Stevens knew the importance that the Med Runners played in the lives of the victims of RV 281. He hoped that by giving them the very best information they would be able to provide better care for their patients and a larger margin of safety for themselves.

He spent the next hour going over many of his notes from teaching previous classes. He didn't really need the notes, all the information was safely filed away in the computer he called a brain. Having written more than his share of medical literature on the subject he could probably have taught an advanced recovery course on the subject never having to open a book or look at any notes. Even with all that knowledge, he knew that RV281 had a way of surprising him. That's why he enjoyed Metabolic Transformation so much. The challenge and individuality involved with each case managed to keep his attention and excitement like no other field had been able to. Looking at the clock confirmed he had just enough time to grab something to eat and drink and get to class just before the students.

About five minutes before the class was to start, the students began to take their seats. Dr. Stevens checked the student list and noted that there was going to be a large class. He was pleased at the turnout. There was a serious shortage of well-trained Runners on the streets. The training was a tough job; maybe just half would make it through all the training and actually become Med Runners. He looked around at the students and tried to pick out the ones he thought would make it through training. It was just a mental exercise since he knew that sometimes the ones you least expect end up being the best. He waited an additional two minutes after the official start time to give stragglers time to make it in.

"Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Dr. Robert Stevens," he introduced himself. A dozen hands shot up at the mention of his name. "Yes, I'm that Dr. Stevens," all the hands dropped back down. "Being that Dr. Smith had a date and I didn't, I got voted to come run my mouth and bore you with the tedious details." That got the laugh he was hoping for. He found it was always better to loosen things up at the beginning of a new class. It helps the students relax and get things moving a little more quickly.

"Let's start out with the cause of Metabolic Transformation. A small relatively harmless retro virus called RV281 is the little bug that is causing all the problems. It was originally developed to carry new bits of DNA into a cell or group of cells to replace damaged or incomplete genes. After finishing its job, it was supposed to die and be absorbed by the host cell. It functioned exactly as it was supposed to for the first few years. It seems that viruses have a tendency to mutate every so often and RV281 was no different. Instead of shuttling DNA into a cell then dying it started surviving then began copying small DNA profiles. The real problem came when RV281 decided it wanted to move around from cell to cell and from person to person, cutting and splicing genes wherever it deemed necessary.

The effects from this splicing went unnoticed for a while until strange problems began to arise. Early on those problems were easily fixed with gene therapy treatment. Even today minor cases can be resolved relatively quickly. We call these Series 1 infections. Very rarely do these types of infections do more than cause minor discomfort. Several vaccines have been developed to prevent most of these types of infections. The only drawback is that they are only effective on viruses that have undergone no more than two mutations.

Viruses that have undergone more than two but less than five mutations are second-generation viruses. Infections by these viruses are Series 2 infections. These cases make up the bulk of all RV infections. Series 2 variants have the ability to rearrange just enough DNA to start causing noticeable changes. Rarely do these cases result in anything other than minor physical abnormalities. With the right treatments, the affects on the body, in general, are on par with a bad flu.

Any viruses that have undergone more than five mutations are first-generation viruses. They are the oldest types and are direct descendants of the first virus to mutate. Cases of this type of infection are called Series 3. There are no available treatments but fortunately, they are the most rare form of RV infection. The genetic code has been sliced, diced, and patched too many times. Any attempt at further gene therapy would only exacerbate the problem.

Series 3 infections can be broken down into three categories; Series 3a, b, and c. Series 3a victims have almost total genetic meltdown. Many times these cases end in severe deformities, mental and/or physical handicaps, or death. Unfortunately these cases are the most common of the three sub categories. Too many genetic changes cause the DNA strands to become fragile and they deteriorate rapidly. With no control, the body begins to self-destruct.

Series 3b and 3c are very similar and the most interesting. Those inflicted with either case have the potential to develop almost superhuman abilities. These abilities can manifest themselves as either physical attributes or psychic ability. Rare cases involve the development of both physical and psychic abilities. This is the amazing part about RV infection. We just don't know what to expect from it. Every case is different so you must be able to adjust your treatment on the fly.

The B series infections more or less keep those infected as human. Those that become infected can be compared to the superheroes and supervillians of old movies and books. One may end up looking just as they had before their change or they may grow larger and change color as well as texture. The Hulk would be a prime example of a Series 3b infection.

There is some limit on what 3b will do. Mostly, the limitations lie in the human bone structure. It can manage to make a skeleton larger but there are limits to that. When a human skeleton is scaled up past ten feet, the engineering begins to break down. The strain on joints gets to be too high and things begin to break.

Conversely, 3b only has a limited capacity to shrink bones. Mostly, it can only manage a slight slimming. This is where Mother Nature saves us; there is no natural mechanism for shrinking bones. The virus can trick the body into a growing phase but it has no way to shrink anything other than removing minerals. That would lead to weakened bones, similar to osteoporosis, and gets dangerously close to a meltdown.

Those that survive the change can develop any number of abilities and/or physical traits. Some develop psychic or paranormal abilities while others have a more physical change. By far, those few folks who develop both physical and psychic abilities are the most rare of all Series 3. I have seen only a handful of these over my career.

Series C cases are the most likely to be the real nasty ones. These are where the real monsters of our world come form. These cases arise when someone gets some animal DNA mixed in with their change. The added pressure of trying to assimilate the added DNA creates great stresses on the body and psyche of those that are infected. Many lose their minds and become the epitome of evil. They live in a constant nightmare state with nearly uncontrollable destructive urges. There is the occasional case in which the victim manages to survive the change and keep their sanity.

I keep mentioning the change. The change manifests itself differently for everyone infected by RV281. Series 3a infections have a domino like affect. Once it starts, it changes something a little. Those changes make other changes and those changes make even more changes. The cycle continues until the bodies of the victims can no longer function. That cycle is called genetic meltdown or just meltdown. The time it takes for a 3a case to run its course is usually short. Once it begins, the speed of changes and breakdowns keeps accelerating. The lucky ones go from relatively healthy beings to death in a matter of days. The unlucky ones are forced to endure weeks or months of pain and suffering. Your only real course of action is to try and make the patient as comfortable as possible.

Series 3b and 3c are a little different since they usually complete the change in one blessedly short event. Generally, the lower the intensity of the change the least amount of physical and mental changes along with the least powerful of enhanced abilities. Those are normally considered best-case scenarios. People who have undergone that type of change generally are able to live mostly normal lives.

The more explosive the change, the more likely you are to have a powerful ability. But, there is a downside; a quick explosive change uses up a lot of energy, sometimes more than a body can produce. Once all the food energy and fat reserves are used up, the patient goes into what is called "burndown". The body will begin to convert muscle tissue and internal organs into energy. Without immediate intervention the burndown will continue until the victim can no longer survive. It isn't pretty and is extremely painful. Trust me, I've seen some of the worst meltdowns and burndowns ever, but I've also had the privilege of seeing some truly amazing recoveries.

I know that was a lot of information. I did at least spare you the really tedious boring details of actual mechanics of the virus and change. That's another class entirely. Any one have any questions so far?" he asked the class. A few hands were raised and he went back over the material they had questions on.

"Now we come to you and your job. Med Runners are a RV infected person's paramedics. You will be trained in the special safety requirements and treatment management for your patients. RV is not an airborne disease. It can't be caught from a sneeze or cough. The Series 1 vaccine is highly affective and basic safety practices will keep you from becoming infected by the other strains. If you are worried about exposure, I give myself as an example. I have been working with very serious Series 3 infections in all stages of development for the last ten years. Only one person on my staff has ever contracted any of the variations.

Your biggest tools in the field are your enhanced liquids and metabolic inhibitors. You may hear them referred to as "juice pouches" and "downers" by other Runners. Most burndowns can be handled using a combination of those two items. Once you get a victims metabolism down to a manageable level, he or she goes into a semi catatonic state called "gone flat" or just "flat". It's a forced pause in their change process. It's not a permanent fix but it usually will buy you some time. At that point they are considered safe to move. The rule we have is we don't try to move a victim until we have him or her flat. The last thing you want is an unstable patient who goes into hyper kinetic convulsions or starts emitting spontaneous flames inside the small confines of your transports.

Your last major concern when transporting a burndown patient is spiking. If brain activity drops and the body begins moving, we call it "spiking". Spiking is extremely dangerous for both the patient and caregiver. When a person spikes during their change, their bodies are desperately trying to find food to fuel its change. The brain is no longer in control of the body. Many times they will try to eat anything near them. That includes you and any equipment you have nearby.

The most dangerous situations you may be put in are open-air night runs. "Open-air" refers to being outside a building or in an unpopulated area. Night is by far the most dangerous time for normal humans to be out and about. These days there are real boogeymen out there. The risk is too great to the lives of the runners to require it. They are run on a voluntary basis only. I know of only one team of runners that have done more than three dozen successful OAN runs. Even though they won't admit it, Jonathan and Mandy are probably the best team on the streets today. My advice is to never pass up a chance to ride along with them. I'm getting a little off subject. Let's get back to OAN runs."

One student raised his hand, "you have a question Mr.?" The doctor asked.

"Davis, sir. I was just wondering who was the gunner on the team?" Mr. Davis asked.

"They don't have one," Robert answered.

"No, gunner? Isn't that taking a very serious risk?"

"I would say that, yes, it's a very serious risk. I asked Jonathan one day why they don't have one and he told me that a Med Runner's job is to save lives, not take them. I'm not saying that they go unprepared. They have developed a few techniques that seem to work very well. We'll get to those later. Can we get back to the topic at hand?"

"Yes, Sir. I just think that is crazy," Mr. Davis replied.

"There are many people who would probably agree with you. Now, back to OAN runs. Probably your greatest concern is running into a Vampira or Lycan. Vampira got their names from their similarities to the movie Vampires. They have unstable DNA chains that can easily be destroyed by a few minutes exposure to the sun so they only come out at night. They are seriously insane tough bastards that can take an unbelievable amount of damage. Crosses, holy water, and any of the other traditional holy weapons are useless against them.

It's unknown why, but they have a taste for human blood. They can't survive on it and it has no affect on them other than to drive them into a frenzy at the sight or smell of it. The leading theory is that they believe they are Vampires and believe they must have it to survive. We refer to these types of things as "compulsions". Those are things that seem to have no physical affect but have a tremendous mental affect. They are handy to know about.

If Vampiras are the equivalent to Vampires then Lycans are the modern equivalent to Werewolves. Lycans are Series 3c victims that resemble a cross of wolf and man. They are strong, agile, and dangerous. Lycans will feed on any type of animal they come into contact with and that includes human and Vampira. They usually run in packs of three or more and are very efficient predators. Once they zero in on a target, the target rarely escapes. They have an acute sense of smell and incredible endurance.

Unlike their made up counterparts, regular bullets are effective on Lycans. There is nothing particularly supernatural about them. Anything that can cause a human harm can cause Lycans harm. They just are far tougher than the average Joe. Lycans' compulsion is the full moon. They don't have the ability to transform from human to wolfman but they do tend to get highly active during the full moon. Again, we have no idea why, other than they just think they should. Their activity is very low to non-existent most of the time."

Dr. Stevens finished up with the lecture portion of class then took the students on a tour of the Metabolic Transformation Ward then showed them the transports and equipment. The students got a laugh when he affectionately called the MT Ward, Monster Hall. They were very attentive and asked many intelligent questions. Most showed a genuine interest and concern for the victims of RV. Dr. Stevens was enjoying the class. He had high hopes for them.

In no time at all, class was over. He stayed for a while telling some stories of his more memorable and humorous cases. The students seemed to enjoy the stories and stayed until he finally told them all to go home a few hours later. He was going to go back to his office to finish some paper work but decided to call it a day instead. After all, the paperwork would be there in the morning. He laughed at that thought. In his younger days, he would have definitely gone back to the office and finished everything before heading home. "With age, comes wisdom," he thought to himself

He didn't feel like cooking dinner for himself again so he stopped and picked up Chinese takeout on the way home. It was evenings like that one that the loss of his wife, Melanie, hit him especially hard. He missed not being able to talk to her. He had tried not to bring the sad parts of his job home with him but he wouldn't hesitate to tell her about the miracles that happened occasionally. She loved hearing about those. She would have been happy about his excitement over the latest class of Med Runners. They would have talked for hours.

They had always been that way together. They had met when Robert was just an intern at the hospital and Melanie was a second year nurse. She seemed to be the only one that could keep up with him. Their working relationship spilled over into their personal relationship and they ended up spending most of their time together. A year later, they were happily married.

They had one of those all to rare relationships that worked on all levels. They were often described as soul mates and the perfect couple. The only thing that they seemed to lack was a family. They had often discussed having children. Robert wanted children almost as much as Melanie did but they wanted to wait until their careers had a chance to stabilize. Little did they know that time was against them.

Melanie was one of the early victims of the Series 3a infection and the only person on his staff to contract RV. They had been planning their first vacation since Robert became a resident at Skycenter Medical. On Monday evening she called him to tell him she'd made reservations for their Caribbean cruise and they were all set for next month. He was looking forward to the time with her. He had been so busy at the hospital that he didn't get to see her nearly enough. A weeklong cruise under a clear blue sky and next to Melanie with no beepers or emergency calls was his vision of heaven.

They never made it on that cruise. Three weeks later Melanie was in the hospital fighting a losing battle. The infection had begun its finally devastating phase. The next day she was dead. She had put on a heroic fight and Robert was by her side throughout the entire terrifying ordeal. He had felt so helpless watching his beautiful wife struggle for her life. For all his studies and training, there was nothing that he could have done. Those were the early days and very little was known about RV281 and Metabolic Transformation.

The first night alone in their house was the hardest night of his life. He was haunted by the memories of their all too short time together. He regretted not spending enough time with her and for waiting too long to have children. He cursed God for taking her away from him too soon. He cried for all their missed vacations. He cried for the loss of the wonderful conversations they would never get to have. He cried for not having anyone to share his life with. Somewhere in the dark cold hours of the morning he drifted into a fitful sleep.

It would take months before he could return to work. Many of his friends worried that he may never return to his old self. Robert vowed to himself to find a way to beat RV281. With a determination born of grief and anger he threw himself into learning everything there was to learn about that hateful little virus. He quickly rose through the ranks of his peers to become the leading expert on RV. He still couldn't stop the virus but he was finding new ways to help those infected by it.

Robert pulled himself out of the past to find that he was sitting in front of his cold take out. His memories had wiped out any desire to eat for the night. He had missed more meals than he cared to count due to nights like that one.

"What I wouldn't give for an emergency call right now," he said to himself, "What I need is a serious distraction." His pager went off startling him. A check of the readout confirmed that he was needed back at the hospital. He looked up and mouthed "thank you," to an unseen force. He tossed his untouched meal into the trash then picked up the phone to call Sara, his head nurse. She picked up on the second ring.

"What have you got over there, Sara?" he asked.

"We've got two coming in. The first is Cole Draven and he is in severe meltdown and is spiking. Mandy Connor is the Tech and she's pushed all available juice and has only one inhibitor left. He's just soaking everything up. I'm afraid it's going to get ugly for him," Sara reported.

"OK, Let's get everyone ready and have the cryo unit on standby. We may have to ice him. What about the second?"

"Hang on a sec, I'm just getting the report on him," there was about a minute pause while Sara read the report. "Oh no, Robert, it's Jonathan Kahne. He got bitten when Mr. Draven spiked. The rest of the report doesn't make sense though. It says they were able to restrain Draven but Jonathan passed out shortly after. According to the report it sounds like Jon is nearing burndown, but that's impossible isn't it?"

"Damn, how long ago was he bitten?"

"Looks like about twenty minutes ago."

"If he is in burndown already, it will be one for the medical journals."

*

Jonathan

Jonathan Kahne was awakened by what he thought was the most annoying sound on the planet, his alarm clock. The buzzer on his clothes dryer was a close second, but he wouldn't have to deal with that for a few days. He was tempted to hit the snooze button and get another nine precious minutes of sleep, but he knew that would only delay the inevitable. He reluctantly dragged himself out of bed and into the bathroom.

The late afternoon sun had lost most of its strength, leaving the bathroom in a grayish gloom. He didn't bother turning on the lights. He knew his home well enough not to bump into anything and he had no desire to see his reflection in the bathroom mirror.

His body was on cruise control. Without any thought on his part, he found himself standing under a steaming hot shower, just as he did everyday. Routine was good for him. Getting up at the same time every day, getting ready the same way, stopping at the same little store everyday, were all little ways of keeping new situations to a minimum. Meeting new people and getting into new situations was very uncomfortable for him. The only place that he could deal with new rapidly changing situations was work.

Jonathan was a Med Runner driver. Mandy Connor was his Tech. His main job was to get them to the patients and deliver them safely home. He also helped out with on-site treatments. Legally, he couldn't order any treatment but he was qualified to administer them. Mandy was the real brains of their operation. It was her responsibility to get a patient stabilized and flat for transport. Some teams would also carry a Gunner. A Gunner usually had one job, keep Lycans, Vampira, and any other creature that had a taste for humans away from the Tech and Driver.

In reality, a Gunner was usually just extra weight. The daylight hours were as safe for Runners as they were for the traditional paramedics. The threat of an attack was only serious after the sun went down. The dark was a requirement for Vampira, while Lycans preferred the dark alleys and shadows it provided. Jonathan and Mandy thought that Med Running and guns didn't mix well. The last thing they wanted to worry about during an OAN run was a testosterone drunk Gunner shooting at anything that moved in the shadows.

They felt that a little preparation and thought could greatly reduce the risks normally involved with night runs. A check of the weather report would tell them if they needed to worry about Vampira. Knowing their compulsion for blood was also handy. Jonathan always made sure they had a few extra units of blood if there was a strong possibility for them. As long as the Moon wasn't full and they kept to the more populated areas, they would be relatively safe from Lycans. The theory had validity since they had more successful runs than most other teams had attempts. It was Mandy and his turn at the night watch. That made the possibility of an OAN very strong over the nest few nights.

He finished getting dressed then headed down to the parking lot to get his old bike started. He had acquired the Honda VFR750 from a friend who had lost interest in motorcycles after a minor accident that caused him to lay the bike down. Jonathan was offered the bike for free but he insisted on paying at least the wholesale price minus the cost of repairs. They ended up working out an agreement that gave the bike to Jonathan for far less than the bike was worth in exchange for his well-used pick-up.

The truck was actually Jonathan's second vehicle. It was a beat up old rattletrap that he only kept around in case he needed to move something or if his friends or family needed it. At the time of the trade, it hadn't been moved in months. Jonathan was actually glad to be rid of it. It freed up the money he was spending to keep it insured, tagged, inspected, and stored. He used that saved money to get the bike back into beautiful running condition. It was a good investment, since he spent more time on it than not. It quickly became his favorite method of transportation.

He continued his normal routine and stopped at his usual convenience store to pick up his regular breakfast of Dr. Pepper and a bag of nacho cheese flavored tortilla chips. Not the healthiest breakfast, but it would keep him going until lunch or dinner, depending on which shift he was working. He stowed those items in his tank bag and started his commute to work.

Fifteen minutes and only one close call later, he arrived at work. Mandy was already there going through the transport checking to make sure it was properly stocked.

"Geez, Mandy, we don't start for another ten minutes. What are you trying to do? Make the rest of us look bad?" he commented.

"I know, but I got bored waiting around for you," she returned. It was there normal: you're a workaholic and you're a slacker banter. Jonathan opened the bag of chips and offered Mandy a chip. "Are you ever going to start eating real food? You might feel a little better if you did."

"Who said I feel bad?" he asked.

"Oh come on, Jon, we both know you've been depressed since dinosaurs roamed the Earth."

"Actually, I only got depressed after they made me your partner," he jabbed trying to change the subject.

"No, not this time, Bucko. You're not changing the subject. I'm worried about you," Mandy stated seriously.

"I know you are, Mom, but I'm fine, really."

"You're not fine, Jon. If you were anymore disconnected from the world around you you'd be floating around in space. When was the last time you did anything other than sit at home and play video games or watch TV?"

"Hey, I went out and saw a movie last weekend," he said, trying to defend himself.

"With someone or alone?"

"I was by myself."

"Why am I not surprised? When was the last time you even had a date. You are way too good looking and nice not to be giving the girls a chance at you. Hell, if I didn't have Dan at home, I'd want to have a piece of you."

"Now you're just trying to embarrass me."

"Is it working? Never mind, your red face tells me it is. All kidding aside, you are a wonderful person and I hate to think you're just hiding yourself away. What are you so afraid of?"

"I'm not afraid," he answered softly, " I just don't feel like I fit into this world."

"What are you talking about?" Mandy asked but they were interrupted before Jonathan could answer.

"Mandy, J, we've got an OAN just outside the city perimeter. You guys up for it?" Rolly, the night watch dispatcher, called over the radio.

They decided on taking it after verifying they were a week past full moon and the evening was going to be cold. Vampira usually prefer the air to be a bit warmer to be active outside. On cool nights they will usually keep indoors. With the moon a week past full, the Lycans wouldn't be especially active either. The odds were good that they wouldn't run into any trouble.

They quickly finished checking the transport's stocks and got suited up. Once they were rolling, Rolly started relaying the important information. From the basic report, they were expecting a serious burndown. The victim was twenty-two year old Cole Draven. The name sounded familiar to Mandy but she couldn't quite place it.

Cole Draven had started out as an overweight guy carrying something close three hundred and twenty pounds. By the time they got to him, his body had consumed almost a full two-thirds of his original weight and he was in severe distress. Mandy started an IV and had Jonathan start pushing the enriched glucose, affectionately know as juice pouches, to try and boost his fluid and energy levels. Jonathan gave him three more juice pouches and Mandy administered three doses of metabolic reducer before they started to get him under control.

Mandy took a few seconds to get Cole hooked up to all the monitoring equipment then confirmed he was flat and ready to move. They moved him to a gurney and secured him for the trip back to Skyview. Mandy noticed he was already showing signs of changing. His teeth had become longer and more pointed. The fingernails on his left hand had an almost talon-like appearance.

"I hope he doesn't go vamp," Jonathan commented.

"It doesn't look good for him regardless. This is one serious burndown. I've only seen one other case where the victim took more than four juice pouches and survived. If he lives, he's going to be a powerful one that's for sure," Mandy replied.

"I'll second that. Let's get him back to the hospital before he has a chance to start up again."

"He's as ready as he's going to get. Let's get him loaded and get the heck out of here. We've been out far too long for my comfort. I don't want to push our luck," Mandy stated.

Just as she was finishing her statement, Jonathan got the distinct impression that they were being watched. He took a slow look around trying to see if he could find their watchers. Maybe it was too many video games or maybe a real threat but, to Jonathan, the air seemed to be filled with a bitter sense of anger, hatred, and need. The affect was the same regardless of the cause. He had given himself a super-sized case of the Heebie Jeebies.

Just as they got Cole over to the transport and started loading him in. The brain activity monitor alarm went off and he started moving around.

"Shit! He's spiking," Mandy swore.

Cole's body was doing it's best to break free of it's restraints. The top three straps holding him down snapped, he sat up and with his teeth bared, turned toward Mandy. He was no longer in control of his body. He wasn't actively seeking her out. He was just as likely to try and take a bite out of the metal gurney as to take a bite out of Mandy.

Without thinking, Jonathan reached out and covered Cole's mouth trying to keep him away from Mandy. Cole clamped down just below his thumb, taking a large chunk out of his hand. The pain was very intense, Jonathan almost pulled his hand away but his brain kicked in telling him he couldn't let go of Cole. If he did, Cole would keep snapping at anything that came near him making it impossible to treat him and possibly injuring any of them.

"Hang on, Jonathan!" Mandy yelled as she gave Cole a massive injection of a mixture of sedatives and metabolic inhibitors. The sedatives would do nothing to slow his change but it would keep the body from moving around on it's own. Jonathan and Cole struggled together for a minute while the drug took affect. The pain running from his hand to his shoulder kept him from passing out. After another thirty seconds, Cole slipped back into flat and they were able to get him loaded and secured. Mandy took the next minute to tend to her friend.

"Dammit, Jonathan, this isn't good. You've probably been infected," she said with a look bordering on sheer terror. Jonathan was sure that if he could have seen himself, he would have been wearing a very similar expression. His world started to get gray and foggy.

"Looks like you'll be driving home today," he whispered as he slipped into the dark oblivion of unconsciousness.

*

Mandy

Mandy Connor knew that the ringing phone meant only one thing, Dan, her husband, was working late again and they wouldn't be having dinner together. It had been almost two weeks since they saw each other do more than sleep. Their schedules seemed to be conspiring to keep them separated. One week Mandy would work nights, Dan would work days. The next week it may be reversed. On the weeks that they actually managed to work the same hours one of them would inevitably end up working late. She missed him.

Reluctantly, she picked up the phone, "Hi hon, working late again?"

"Yeah, it looks like it. This project is proving to be Hell. Every time we fix a problem, two more pop up. I may be here all night," Dan groaned.

"OK, but don't forget to stop and eat dinner some time. You are entitled to a break every now and then you know."

"What and ruin my reputation as a workaholic? You're on nights the next couple days, right?"

"Yeah, hopefully it'll be a quiet rotation. I miss you."

"I miss you too, Sweetheart. I promise I'll be home more as soon as this project is over. Look, I've got to go. There's a test run going and I need to be there to see the results. I'll be on the test floor most of the evening, so leave a voicemail if you call. I'll try and check it every hour or so. Love you," he said.

"Love you," she repeated then listened as he hung up the phone. She hated being the first to hang up and he knew it. Sometimes he would purposely not hang up just to mess with her. It had been a long while since he had done it though and that made her a little sad. She knew that they wouldn't always be that overly sweet couple that everyone else hates, but she was still sorry to see those days go.

Her evening plans had opened up with that call. She had hoped to have a nice hot dinner and some conversation with Dan. Without seeing each other for so long they would have plenty to talk about. Those plans were now scrapped. As she prepared to spend the next few hours by herself, she wondered how her partner Jonathan managed to spend so much time alone. He wasn't married and barely dated. She could count the number of dates he had in the last year on one hand. If she were forced to spend that many days alone, she would have been ready for a nice padded room somewhere.

She really didn't have anything to do around the house. With both Dan and her spending so little time at home it rarely got that messy. About all she needed to do was an occasional tidying up along with a once over dusting to keep things neat. She had finished that task hours ago. She didn't want to spend the few hours in that house by herself so she grabbed her work clothes and headed for Skyview Medical.

Like her husband, Mandy was a first class workaholic. She probably logged more hours at work than anyone else except maybe for Jonathan. She had little patience for slacking off which didn't help her make many friends. Jonathan seemed to be one of only a small few that could put up with her high standards. Even though she would give him a hard time and call him slacker, she knew he wasn't anywhere close to a slacker. He was also one of the few men that could willingly accept taking orders from a woman.

She had always been the type of girl who didn't mind taking control. Add that to her drive and above average good looks and she got labeled 'bitch' more often than she cared to admit. She wasn't particularly concerned with that fact. Her mentality and work ethic tended to allow her to stand out from the crowd of barely doers. She quickly had risen through the ranks of Med Runners becoming a lead Tech quicker than any other person in Runner history, and yes, that includes the guys.

She wasn't in a rush to get to work so she stopped and grabbed a light dinner then did a little shopping. Her heart wasn't really into it so she ended up just walking around staring blankly into store windows. She thought about her and Dan for a while. She kept trying to figure out a way for them to see each other more. Short of one of them finding a new job with a more stable schedule she couldn't think of anything. The chance of either one of them quitting their current jobs was slim to none. They both loved what they were doing.

The aimless wandering had managed to kill some time so Mandy headed over to work. She would still be early, but she knew she could find plenty of stuff to do. After stashing her stuff in her locker, she got changed into her jumpsuit/ uniform then headed out to check on her transport. The daily log required checking on the truck's mechanicals but she left those tasks for Jonathan when he came in. She busied her- self with checking their supplies and making a request list to fill any depleted items.

As she was working, her mind drifted back to Jonathan. He was worrying her. For as long as she had known him, which was nearly four years, he had been depressed. Maybe not severely but certainly depressed most of the time. Many times before she tried talking to him about it but he usually just changed the subject. That was unusual since Jon was able to talk to her about nearly everything else. She got the impression that he had been hurt very badly at some point and was dead set against saying anything about it. She had decided to talk him into seeing someone.

Once he arrived, they started their normal bickering. She attempted to get him to open up about his depression but he managed to avoid it again. They were called out on an OAN run and that stopped the conversation as they prepared for the run. The trip out was uneventful. Mandy had high hopes for getting things stable and flat then getting out before anyone knew they were there. Unfortunately, things didn't go her way. First, Cole Draven was in major burndown. That took extra time and effort to get him under enough control to move him. Then, as they were trying to get him loaded, he spiked and started after her. Jonathan did the incredibly stupid thing of grabbing a spiking patient and ended up getting bitten.

She didn't know why, but she was surprised when Jon put himself in danger to save her. If someone had asked her if he would do something like that, she would have definitely said yes. But seeing him actually doing it still surprised her. It showed her how much he cared for her and she was deeply touched. From the moment it happened she knew that things were going to get very bad for Jon. He somehow managed to help get Cole secured and loaded before he himself collapsed.

Having Jon collapse so soon after being infected had her worried. She had seen him get hit by a car only to stand up and brush himself off as if he had merely tripped. He even managed to continue with rescue efforts. Having him pass out after being bitten sounded every internal alarm Mandy possessed. She immediately sprung into action knowing the sooner she got them to Skyview the better.

Fortunately for her, Jonathan was a lightweight. He wasn't a tiny guy. Standing six feet tall moves anyone out of tiny status. He was, however, very lightly built. Even with the modest amount of muscle, he barely tipped the scales at 150 lbs. She was able to get him maneuvered into a transportable position. He was proceeding with unheard of speed, barely ten minutes had passed and he was already showing signs of entering burndown.

With both of her patients secure, she called into Skyview to update them on her situation. Rolly didn't believe her at first.

"Mandy, are you joking with me? I mean no one goes from uninfected to burndown in minutes. That sort of thing usually takes days if not weeks," Rolly stated in disbelief.

"Look, Rolly, I know this sounds crazy, but have you ever known me to joke like this?"

"No, I guess you don't. Jesus, Jon's already burning. You want me to send some help?"

"No, I don't have time to wait for anyone to get out here. They're both quiet now but I'm afraid that could change at any minute. Draven would be a handful even if Jon was able to help me. I need to get these guys back home as quickly as possible."

"OK, I'll get Will and Michael to meet you halfway and escort you back just in case you need some help," he offered.

"Sounds like a plan but I'm not stopping unless it's absolutely necessary. Tell them not to take it personally."

"I will and I've sent the report to Dr. Stevens' team. They'll be waiting for you. Good Luck and be safe."

"I'll settle for getting all three of us back in one piece. I'm on the move now," she finished as she got the transport headed back towards Skyview.

Together, Will and Michael were one of the best Runner teams and the only team that could keep up with Mandy and Jon. She was relieved to know that she would have their help if she needed it. Knowing Will, he'd be driving like a bat out of Hell, so she figured she'd only be alone with Draven and Jon for about ten minutes. She wasn't exactly comforted by that.

Ten minutes could be a long time if something went wrong. Draven had already proven to be more than a physical match for both Jon and her. If he got loose again she would be in major trouble. They were, however staying very quiet. That made Mandy even more nervous. She kept imagining the scenes in old horror movies where things were very quiet just long enough to get the victims to relax. Then the ax or chainsaw-wielding madman would smash through a window and kill the helpless schlub before he or she could react.

Fortunately for her, she wasn't in a third rate horror flick and both Draven and Jonathan remained quiet. A few minutes later she passed Will and Michael who made a quick u-turn and caught up with her in less than a minute. Her tension level dropped a notch once they fell in behind her. Everything remained quiet as the miles clicked by and she got within transmitting distance. All Med Runner transports were equipped with a communication link to Skyview but they were only affective once they got within five miles of the building. Any farther than that, and there was too much interference from cell phones, Wi-Fi hotspots, television and radio waves, and any number of other types of electromagnetic waves.

She hit the send key and began transmitting all the data that she had acquired from Mr. Draven. She had used the back up equipment on Jonathan to keep tabs on him as well, but they weren't on network so she couldn't send anything on him. By the time she got to the doors of the MT wing, Dr. Stevens would have all the available information already in hand. He would have his staff briefed on and ready for Cole Draven. She would be able to fill them in on Jonathan when she finally got there.

The knot that used to be her stomach started to loosen when she got within sight of Skyview. She only had a minute or two then her patients would be delivered to the best possible care in the country. The horror movie that had been playing in her head finally ended and she relaxed a little. Draven had other plans in mind as his alarm started shrilly screaming. "OH Damn!" Mandy cursed. "Just great, I'm in some sort of real life scary movie. Next thing the transport will stop and Freddy Voorhees will tear the door off and cut me to pieces," she thought.

She wasn't going to stop being so close to Skyview. They could just stand up and start tap dancing for all she cared. She grabbed the radio and called the hospital.

"Sara! Draven's spiking again. I'm less than a minute out so get ready."

"We're ready, Mandy, just get him here."

Mandy dropped the radio and concentrated on the road ahead of her. Draven worried her but Jonathan was scaring the crap out of her. His AS or Altered State readings were very weird. Normal AS readings tended to be waves with peaks and valleys. Jon's looked more like waves with the peaks and valleys sheared flat. She could never remember seeing anything that even closely resembled his. "What in the Hell is happening to him?" She thought as she pulled into MT's emergency bay.

The rear doors were pulled open milliseconds after she slid the big transport to a stop. Dr. Stevens' team was already getting to work. Two of the larger team members were securely removing the spiking and struggling Cole Draven. Jonathan remained eerily quiet. His AS reading remained strange but stable. He was moved to a room while the teams main attention was focused on Draven.

The team was working frantically trying to stay ahead of Draven's change. His metabolism was using up juice pouches as quickly as they could give them to him. He was proving to be quite a challenge for Dr. Stevens and his team. They were using every trick they had and were slowly beginning to win the battle. Cole began to come out of burndown and move into the recovery stage. They continued to monitor him but he was passed the worst part of the change. In a few days he would be completely rebuilt and ready to return to his life.

Mandy had been splitting time between keeping an eye on Jonathan and checking on Cole's progress. With Cole through the dangerous parts, Mandy turned her full attention to Jonathan. Dr. Stevens came to check on Jonathan and Mandy.

"Any changes?" he asked Mandy as he entered Jonathan's room.

"He's progressing," she answered flatly. His rapid progression had her more worried than she'd admit. "Have you ever seen anything like this?"

Dr Stevens was going over Jon's AS reading for the past hour, "Yes and no," he replied, "I've seen patients progress at a frenetic pace and go from uninfected to burndown in days but not in hours. These AS reading concern me as well. These flat spots are sections of the brain that aren't functioning at all. It's like they've been disconnected. If they were consistent, I'd say he was losing brain function but the flat spots keep moving. After the flat spots pass through a section, that section becomes active again. There are some small changes also. Looking at these reading leads me to believe that his brain is being rewired and upgraded."

"Is that a good thing?"

"I won't be able to tell until he wakes up," he said then paused, "if he wakes up. The speed and amount of changes would normally indicate meltdown, but the changes seem to be stable from the readings I'm seeing. Knowing what the little bug did to Draven, I can only speculate that Jon is in for a rough night."

"He's going to make it through this. I have a feeling he's been through some rough stuff in his life and this will be just another step for him," Mandy said.

"I think you're right. If anyone could survive this, it would be Jon."

"How's Cole doing?"

"He's doing good now. We had to use most of our juice pouches on him to get him that way but I think he'll be just fine."

"Uh, Robert, how long will it take to get some more juice ready?"

"I have someone bringing some up from storage. It'll take about a half hour to get it prepped once it's here, why?"

"Jon's about to start burning down," Mandy stated. She had been watching his AS monitor and noticed the tell tale secondary wave, which looks like a smaller wave in between two larger ones, start forming.

She could see that Dr. Stevens was stunned. He hadn't expected Jon to reach burndown until late the next day at the earliest. They were in for a long night and they knew it. Mandy had a feeling that Robert would be rewriting the book on RV if Jon survived until the morning. "This isn't good, we don't have enough juice to get him through a burndown right now," Dr. Stevens commented.

"Well, someone should let him know that because he starting. I hope you've got a few tricks left in that bag of yours."

"We're about to find out," Robert said solemnly as he hit the alert button next to Jon's bed. Less than thirty seconds later, nurses began filing in the door preparing to get to work. They all had worried looks on their faces. They all knew that they were dealing with an extremely atypical patient and anything may happen over the next few minutes to hours. There was also an underlying sense of excitement. Most of them had seen just about everything that RV could throw at them but this latest case was promising to give them all something new to talk about.

Dr. Stevens' team was fully assembled less than three minutes after the alert was sent out. In that time, Jonathan slipped into full burndown. His body had already started to consume any fat that he may have had on him and his weight was rapidly dropping. The IV that Jon had been given when he first arrived was proving to be inadequate so another was added. Even with both IVs working at their maximum, Jonathan was still losing weight rapidly.

"Do we have enough pouches for a third line?" Dr. Stevens asked one of his nurses.

"Yes, but not for long. With three lines and his consumption rate off the charts, I'd say we'd have about ten minutes worth," the nurse answered.

"We don't have much of a choice. Let's just hope ten minutes is enough. Add another line," he ordered. They all knew that it was going to take more than ten minutes for him get through burndown. "Get those other bags prepped as quickly as possible."

The nurse's estimate turned out to be a little optimistic and Jon was on his own a little less than eight minutes later. The additional pouches were still ten minutes away from being useable and metabolic inhibitors had little to no affect on his condition. Mandy knew the odds weren't good for him. With no outside support it was up to Jon's body to fight the virus on it own. Being so thin was Jon's worst enemy. If he had carried another fifty pounds, she would be hopeful for getting him the nutrients and energy his body needed. There just wasn't enough of Jon to sustain him until the pouches were ready.

"Mandy, it doesn't look good for him. He only has a few minutes before he spikes. If Draven hadn't used up so much juice, he'd have a fighting chance. I don't have anything I can do. We've tried all variations of inhibitors but none of them have done any good. We could try icing him down but I don't think that's going to help. He's progressed much too rapidly for that. I don't think he's going to make it."

She knew that the most likely outcome was Jonathan's death but her heart still broke when she heard those words. "So that's it? Infected to death in hours. Robert, are we ever going to get control over RV?" she asked.

"Someday, I hope. We did create it so we should be able to find some way of dealing with it," He answered. Jonathan's body was struggling against the massive changes RV was trying to produce. He seemed to be losing the battle. His body had been reduced to its barest minimum. Almost all of his muscle had been lost leaving him looking like a holocaust victim from World War II. "He'll probably spike at any moment. I feel so helpless. I know what I need to do to save him but I can't do it."

"Is it getting colder in here?" Sara, the head nurse, asked. Mandy hadn't noticed but the room did seem to be a few degrees cooler.

"That's weird. It usually gets warmer with so many people in here," Robert commented.

"If that's weird, check out his AS readings," Mandy pointed out.

"What the Hell? It looks like he's improving, but that's impossible." He couldn't believe what he was seeing. After a full minute of watching the readings improve, Robert felt hope return.

"OK, it's definitely getting cooler in here," Sara stated.

The only conclusion they could think of was that the cooler temperatures were slowing Jonathan's change. He decided to try and ice him down. That technique was usually the most affective at either the very early stages or very late in the change. They moved Jon to the cryo unit and began cooling him with a chilled water submersion. It did not have the desired affect. His body showed signs of severe stress and he was removed less than a minute later.

"Get him back to his room and get him warmed back up. Give me the AS readings from when he was improving and the ones from the submersion tank. Something strange is going on here but I can't quite put my finger on it."

"OK, Robert, what do we know?" Mandy asked trying to get his thoughts on track.

"He was infected by a spiking carrier giving him a turbocharged case of RV. That cranked his change rate up to stratospheric levels and made metabolic inhibitors useless. His condition worsened, as expected, due to lack of available enriched glucose. He showed some improvement when the temperature dropped in his room but was stressed when we tried to ice him."

"What does that tell you?"

"It tells me he's hyperactive and needs energy in a hurry."
"Maybe we're looking at this wrong, maybe the temperature drop wasn't related?"

Dr. Stevens thought about that few a few minutes. "No, maybe it was related just not how I originally thought," Robert said in a classic eureka moment.

"You just figured it out didn't you?"

"Maybe," he said and picked up a near by phone. He punched the button for maintenance, "Dave, this is Robert. I need you guys to bring up a few of those propane heaters." Dave must have asked why he wanted heaters, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you and I need them yesterday," Robert finished. He then retrieved a couple electric blankets from a storage cabinet and headed for Jonathan's room.

"What are you up to, Robert? And what's with the heaters and blankets?" Mandy asked as they arrived at Jon's door.

"Just give me one minute and you'll see," he grinned. Mandy knew that grin. It was the same one she saw every time he cracked a tough case. "Jon's going to make it," she thought to herself. She watched as Dr. Stevens plugged the blankets in and threw them over Jon. He had set both of them on their highest settings then stepped back to monitor the results.

Nothing happened for the first minute or so. They just stood and waited. It was driving Mandy crazy. Patience wasn't one of her strengths and the waiting in the dark was getting on her nerves. As the blankets slowly began to warm, Jonathan's condition began to improve.

"Son of a bitch," Mandy said in amazement, "What is going on and how the Hell did you figure that out?"

"We assumed that the cooler temperatures were the catalyst improving Jon's condition. That was obviously an incorrect assumption. You asked if maybe the temperature change was unrelated and I started thinking how else it could be connected. I vaguely remembered my physics class in high school talking about how an air conditioner works. When the liquid freon changes states from a liquid to a gas it needs heat to do that. It pulls the available heat out of the surrounding environment giving us a cooling affect.

I wondered if maybe Jonathan might be doing something similar. I didn't think he was going to evaporate or anything like that but he may possibly be using the heat from the air to give him energy."

"Do you mean like snakes and lizards do? That sounds pretty far out there," Mandy replied skeptically.

"It's even farther out there than you think. Reptiles use the heat from their environment but they don't actively draw heat out of the air. Think of them as passive while Jon is active."

They both took a few moments to process Robert's theory. Mandy didn't really think it was possible but she couldn't argue the results. Jon was improving with just the heating blankets. The temperature in the room had dropped a few more degrees as they were talking and it was beginning to fall faster.

"It's starting to get cold in here. How far do you think it can fall before Jon starts having trouble?"

"I don't know but I think we need to try and keep it as warm as possible," Dr. Stevens said as he walked to the thermostat and switched it to maximum heat. There was an audible click then warm air started blowing from the air vents.

The additional warmth seemed to trigger something in Jonathan and he began pulling a lot more heat out of the room. In less then a minute, Mandy and Robert could see their breath steaming in the cold room. Mandy was simultaneously amazed and frightened by what Jonathan was doing. She had seen plenty strange behaviors and situations arise from RV but Jon was off the scale in sheer magnitude of being able to affect the environment. She knew that there are cases where super abilities manifest themselves and was wondering if she was witnessing just such an event.

The temperature continued dropping at an alarming rate as frost was beginning to coat the windows and various other surfaces. Robert was about to call maintenance and see what was taking them so long when Dave showed up lugging two very large propane-fueled heaters. "Here you go Doc, all fueled up and ready to…" he trailed off as he walked into the room and saw what was going on. He just stood there looking around him in complete amazement. "Well, I see why you need these," he said after a few seconds. He had the heaters in place and running at their maximum in only a few minutes.

The temperature began to slowly climb as the sheer amount of heat the two giant heaters filled the room. It took them a full ten minutes to return the room to a comfortable level. Dr. Stevens noted that the warmer the temperature, the easier time Jon was having. He decided to get the room as warm as possible and see how Jon reacted. The temperature continued its slow climb. Jon's three IV lines were finally replenished with the freshly prepared glucose solution.

Jonathan's condition continued to improve as the room got warmer. His AS readings began to change as the temperature approached ninety degrees. He was almost through burndown and would soon be in the rebuilding phase. Neither Mandy nor Robert knew how Jonathan would turn out but they knew it was going to be interesting. The temperature reached ninety-eight degrees and Jonathan began rebuilding.

 

 

 

*

Waking Up

The worst part about passing out is the waking up afterwards. You have that weird few minutes of complete disorientation. You don't know who, what, when, where, or why. That problem is made even worse when you wake up in a strange place. The unfamiliar sights, sounds, and smells, just serve to push your stress levels up another notch or two.

After a minute or two of complete confusion, Jonathan's brain finally managed to begin reorganizing his thoughts into something just this side of coherent. He recognized the room he was in as a hospital room. The main lights were off and the only illumination was the soft greenish glow emitted by the blood pressure monitor next to his bed. His whole body ached. He felt like he had run a marathon, gotten hit by a bus then rolled down a long, steep, rocky hill.

The slight throbbing tingling sensation in his hand reminded him of why he was there; he'd been bitten by a Series 3 carrier in the middle of a severe burndown. He knew enough about the Series 3 conditions to know he was in serious trouble. He wondered how much time he had until either his genetic code self-destructed or, if he was lucky, a change that didn't leave him with a thirst for blood. Perhaps he had as little as a week or maybe as much as years. There was no way to tell. Dwelling on it would do nothing more than waste whatever time he had left. He felt like he had been given a death sentence but he didn't know when that sentence was to be carried out.

He needed to quit thinking like that, so he began to concentrate on his body. Once he got past the aches and pains he realized he felt different. He had this gentle tingly sensation running all over him. It was like there was a very low voltage current running through him. His hair had fallen over his face so he reached up to move it out of the way. He brushed past his chin feeling smooth soft skin.

"That's weird," he thought to himself, "I didn't shave this morning. I'm surprised I'm not scruffy yet." At that point, he started checking the rest of him over. His face felt a little weird. It wasn't like he remembered it. He couldn't put his finger on what it was; he just knew it was different. The more he explored the more things that just didn't seem right. His arms felt thin. He didn't feel the usual amount of muscle there. "There's no way I've been through the change already. It's only been a few hours since I was bitten. No one changes in less than a week. How long have I been out? What the Hell is going on here?"

He kept exploring farther. His hands slowly slid down his body. He was afraid of what he might find. If he had already been through the change, he could wind up as anything. He would be as likely to find horns or scales, as he was to find himself unchanged. He made it to his chest and felt two soft fist sized mounds there. "No freakin' way!" he exclaimed, but he could feel his hands pressing down on his new additions. There was little doubt about what he had. Somehow he had breasts! He quickly pulled himself to a seated position then the room began to spin and blackness closed in on him before he could find out more. Unconsciousness had claimed him once again.

He didn't know how long it was before he woke up again. The soft golden light filtering in the windows told him it was either early morning or late afternoon. Whether it was the next morning or evening he didn't know. It could have been days later for that matter. He thought about waking up the first time as the last remaining wisps of fog quickly evaporated from his mind and clear thought returned.

With better the light of day, He was able to see more of what had happened. He looked at his hands first and noted that they were smaller and more slender. His nails were a little longer and had an almost orangish red iridescence. His skin seemed softer, smoother, and more sensitive. He could feel the air swirl around his arms and hands as he moved them. The hair on his arms was much paler and thinner. His normal dark brown hair had been replaced by a pale pinkish red.

He purposefully avoided looking at his body. He wasn't sure if he had dreamed that part of things or not. He didn't know if he was ready to deal with that issue just yet. With no mirrors or shiny surfaces near him, he couldn't look at his face. He used his hands and tried to do a crude sort of Braille-like examination. Keeping congruent with his previous awakening, he noticed the lack of any facial stubble. It had been at least two full days since he had shaved last. That's about the normal interval for him. He really was not a fan of facial hair and his skin is too sensitive to shave everyday. Every other day makes shaving bearable but every third day is best. Rarely does he let himself go any longer than that. He should have at least been able to feel something.

The rest of his face turned out to be just as confusing. His skin was softer, smoother, and more sensitive than it was on his hands and arms. Even though his old nose wasn't big, his new one felt smaller, more slender. His lips, on the other hand, felt fuller. His tongue was extremely sensitive and he kept getting strange tastes. That was one of a few peculiar sensations he was experiencing. There was a shallow impression in the roof of his mouth that his tongue seemed to fit into nicely. It also seemed to be the source of his overdeveloped sense of taste.

That scared him. He knew that he had as good a chance of turning out a monster as being relatively normal. He used his tongue to check for any other obvious changes. His teeth seemed to be just as they had always been and he didn't find any other strange growths or depressions anywhere else. The tip of his tongue did feel a little odd. He concentrated on that and after a few seconds he realized that it seemed to be split slightly in two.

"I must have bitten my tongue during my change," he told himself trying to sound confident. The possibility that he may be a monster became stronger.

His chin felt different even though he couldn't quite put his finger on what exactly was different about it. The one area that did feel completely normal was his eyes. They had always been a little sensitive to really bright lights. He needed sunglasses any time he went outside even on a partly sunny day. As far as he could tell, they were functioning exactly as they had always functioned.

He finished with his face then closed his eyes and tried to contemplate his situation. Between his little self-examination and what he saw the last time he was awake, he figured he had somehow managed to transform into a woman. He sat and argued with himself for at least ten minutes trying to deny the evidence he had presented himself. Even if he hadn't felt the small breasts sticking out of his own chest, there were still plenty of signals coming from other parts of his body to tell him that he was no longer the man he used to be.

Jonathan still wasn't ready to confirm his hypothesis. He began trying to figure out how long he'd been unconscious. He figured that he had been out for at least two weeks. The shortest recorded time between infection and undergoing the change is ten days. The end result of that case was a complete genetic meltdown and the patient died on the tenth day. There have been a handful of people who had rapid onset change and survived mostly intact after twelve days. Jon figured that since he was still alive and, as far as he could tell, mostly intact, that the minimum was twelve. Since he had been conscious once before, he added one day for that and a day for the change itself.

That was a very minimum tally. A more reasonable timeframe was probably closer to three weeks. He just couldn't figure out why he would have been unconscious that long. That isn't typical. He felt like he was Alice just after she fell down the rabbit hole. Nothing was making sense and he was seriously starting to stress out about it. He was really hoping he was in a bad dream and would wake up in his little apartment soon.

He knew that was just wishful thinking. He had all the evidence he needed to realize that somehow he had already gone through the change caused by RV281.

"I might as well get on with it and see what that thing did to me," he thought. He took a steadying breath and threw off the sheets that had been hiding his body. His long, slender, and feminine legs added another small piece to a rapidly changing puzzle. His hospital gown still somehow managed to obscure the absolute defining characteristics of which gender he belonged to.

Jonathan knew it was a good thing that he hadn't been shown everything all at once. That would be like trying to find the sum without knowing all the parts. He needed to find things out one step at a time or risk overstressing his already stressed mind. He first checked to make sure his new legs worked like the old ones. They dutifully raised themselves and made small kicking motions as he asked them to. Satisfied that he was indeed looking at his legs and that they were working properly, he took a closer look.

The hair that covered them was the same pale pinkish color that he had discovered elsewhere. The skin was also soft, smooth, and sensitive. His toenails had the same reddish orange iridescence that had appeared in his fingernails. His feet looked about the same size and basically the same shape as before. They may have been a bit slimmer but, without a side by side comparison, he couldn't be certain.

He had been staring at his toes for several minutes when the heater kicked on and started blowing warm air on his exposed legs. The tingly electric current feeling he had noticed earlier concentrated itself on the areas where the warm air was touching his legs. It felt like he was drawing in the heat from the air. He just sat there and thought about that feeling for a minute. He wondered if maybe it was some sort of super sense that had developed as part of his transformation.

As he concentrated on the tingling he realized that it wasn't covering his whole body. It seemed to be concentrated on certain areas. The first was where the warm air was hitting him. Another was a small patch of sunshine that had managed to reach his bed and was covering his hand. Still another was where his IV was slowly dribbling in a warm unknown liquid. The longer he concentrated, the more he could pick up. He could even feel where the overhead lights were hitting him. "Man, this just keeps getting weirder and weirder," he said to himself. His voice was not what he remembered. It was slightly higher and seemed to have a different resonance. It was a sexy, full, feminine sound that he would have loved had it not been coming from his own lips.

A knock on his door brought his attention back to the world around him. Mandy walked in and gave him a huge relieved smile.

"Good, you finally decided to rejoin the world of the living," she ribbed him, "You've taken being a lazy slacker to new heights."

"From what I can see of myself, I would say I've been doing anything but slacking. What the heck has happened to me?" a very relieved Jonathan pleaded. Seeing a familiar face made him feel better.

"You scared the Hell out of me is what you did," she said with obvious relief.

That reaction told him things must have gotten very bad for him. Mandy was like a rock when it comes to stressful situations. In all the time they'd worked together, Jonathan had never seen her ever get ruffled. "What the Hell happened?" he asked again as his stress level jumped a few more notches.

"What do you remember?"

"I remember getting bitten when Cole spiked. After that I don't remember anything until I woke up last night and noticed I had these," he answered pointing at his newly acquired female parts.

"OK, it looks like you need the whole rundown then. Oh wait, have you talked to Robert, yet?"

"No, you're the first person I've seen."

"Let me go get him. He might be able to give you better answers than I can. Your change has thrown out a lot of curve balls. He's spent most of the last day talking to other doctors and trying to get a handle on it."

"Fine, whatever, just tell me what is going on," he snapped, "Sorry, Mandy, I'm just a little freaked out."

"That's OK, Jon. I don't blame you for being grumpy. You've been through a Hell of a lot more than you realize," Mandy stated ominously then left to get the doctor. She returned a few minutes later followed by Dr. Robert Stevens. Robert was one of the few people at the hospital Jonathan was comfortable being around. He considered Robert a friend as well as a world-class doctor.

"Well, Jonathan, how are you feeling this morning?" Robert asked.

"I'm a bit on the freaked out side, Robert. What happened to me?" Jonathan answered.

"I bet you've got a million questions but let me get you up to date on what we know then you can ask any questions you might have."

"Sounds reasonable to me," Jonathan returned.

"Let me start out by saying you are one of the wildest cases I have ever worked on. You arrived along with the patient you had been sent out to help. Mr. Draven was deep into a major burndown. Your partner had managed to keep him stable enough to get him here. You were showing some beginning signs of joining him and that had us all worried. There has never been a reported case of someone undergoing a change that soon after being infected. My colleagues and I believe it may have something to do with being infected during a burndown and while the victim was spiking. The theory is that the hyper active state of the infecting virus accelerated the process.

We had our hands full trying to keep your patient from completely burning down. We ended up giving him over two-dozen bags of enriched glucose and icing him down for nearly two hours before his change began to taper off and come out of burndown. He survived the ordeal and is doing remarkably well. He was by far the worst case to enter this hospital until an hour later when you went into your own burndown.

With you progressing so quickly, I put my staff on alert and started an IV drip immediately. You stayed quiet until just after we got Mr. Draven stabilized. Your change started using up the few fat reserves you may have had very quickly. In a matter of minutes your body weight began to drop. We increased the amount of fluids and added a course of blood transfusions. Your body quickly outpaced our efforts. I ordered up an additional two lines for more glucose but we had depleted the immediately available stock on Mr. Draven.

Running out of juice had me worried, we did have more in storage, but it would take time to collect and prep it for use. I honestly didn't think we'd be able to get it to you in time. Things were going more or less like what one expects in these situations. Usually when a person gets to the point that you did, they'll spike and start going after anything near them. You didn't. Somehow, your body found another way to get the energy it needed.

Sara was the first to notice that the air temperature was quickly dropping. After a minute, it had dropped nearly ten degrees and your condition began to improve. I had first thought that the air conditioner had stuck on and the cooler temperatures were slowing your metabolism. We then tried to ice you down but your condition worsened the cooler we got you. It wasn't until we tried to warm you back up and you began to improve again, that I realized what you were doing. I normally don't get surprised at much that has to do with RV, but what you were doing shocked the Hell out of me, Jon," Dr. Stevens said honestly.

"What happened? What did I do that was so amazing even the world famous Dr. Robert Stevens was surprised?" Jonathan questioned, honestly surprised himself.

"I don't know how or why it happened but your body started pulling energy out of the air around you. That's what was causing the temperature to drop."

"I did what!? How is that even possible?"

"I have a theory on that but let me talk about your other surprises first."

"You're the expert, Doc," Jon said flatly. The tone in his voice worried Robert. He wasn't sure how well Jon was taking the news of his transformation.

"Jon, how are you feeling? If this is too much we can stop for a while."

"No, sorry Robert, I admit this is tough to process but I'd feel better if I knew everything."

"Alright, but if it gets to be too much just say so. It's better to take things slow at this point."

"Thanks, Robert, I'll stop you if I need to."

"All right, where was I? Oh yes, dropping temperatures. At that point, all we could do was keep track of your vitals and take notes. After about a ten minutes or so, the temperature in your room had dropped to the point that ice was beginning to form on the windows and you were starting to show signs of stress again. I hoped that you had drawn as much energy out of your surroundings that you could and that adding some heat would help the situation. I had maintenance bring in a couple propane-powered heaters and turned them on full blast.

The more heat we poured in, the more you seemed to like it. Your body began to visibly change once we got the temperature up closer to ninety-eight degrees. The warmer we were able to get you the better you seemed to be. Your hair was the first thing that we noticed had changed. Actually, it didn't change as much as it was replaced. It took a total of five minutes for your original brown hair to fall out and be totally replaced by what you have now. Some of the girls are calling it flaming. The fifteen different shades of red, orange, and blonde give it a kind of flaming effect. It's really quite stunning. The rest of your body hair is a very fine reddish pink.

The first stages of the change had used up a lot of the muscle tone you previously carried. I expected it to return once we had you on the upswing. You, again, managed to surprise me. We take plenty of measurements during a change. It helps us to keep track of how your body is doing. I was going over the latest rounds of measurements when I noticed you were beginning to rebound. Your waist had stabilized around twenty-eight inches and your hips were beginning to recover by adding nearly an inch. Your arms and legs had also leveled out and were holding steady, while the chest measurement was up a little more than an inch.

I was relieved to see that you had started coming back. I have never seen a case get as bad as you did and have the patient recover before. I honestly thought we were going to lose you for a little while. I waited for the next rounds of measurements and kept an eye out for any other changes. We noticed a slight change in your hands, as they seemed to be a little longer and thinner. Your nails took on a strange iridescence and begin to harden. I don't know if you noticed or not but those things are damn near unbreakable."

Jonathan raised his hands to take a closer look. He had noticed the reddish-orange iridescence earlier. He hadn't bothered to check to see how strong they were. Dr. Stevens, in an effort to show Jonathan he wasn't making things up, picked up a pair of scissors and tried to cut one of his nails. The scissors were barely able to scratch the surface of the nail. Jonathan just stared in disbelief for a few seconds then burst into a fit of giggles

"Jon, you still OK?" Mandy asked with more than a hint of worry in her voice.

"Yes, I'm still OK. I was just thinking that having unbreakable nails was a funny superpower. I can just imagine the tag line, anywhere a back needs scratched Supernails will be there," he said grinning. Both Mandy and Robert got a laugh out of his comment.

"It's nice to see you haven't lost your sense of humor through all this," Robert smiled. He was more than a little relieved to see some of the old Jonathan show through.

"I second that, Robert," agreed Mandy, equally relieved.

"Let's get on with the story, Doc. I'm hooked now," Jon smiled.

"Like I was saying I was waiting for your next round of measurements. I would have a better idea of how quickly you were recovering after I had a chance to compare the newest data with the last few. They finally arrived and I began comparing them. Your waist was still holding as was your arm and leg measurements. Your height hadn't changed through the entire process and was still just shy of six feet. Your hips had added another inch, totaling thirty-seven and some change. Your chest measurement had also added a little more than an inch, getting up to thirty-eight inches even. We noticed that it wasn't coming in as muscle but instead as breast tissue.

That was something else that I didn't expect. At that point, I threw all the previous medical information in the trash since you were rewriting most of it anyway. You had gone through thirty juice bags and weren't showing any signs of slowing down. You were using up more energy and supplies than any three other RV except for Mr. Draven. Your change had more or less leveled off and I wasn't so concerned for your survival at that point. You had gotten through the rough part pretty much all on your own. All that was left was to keep you supplied with nutrients and energy and let things run their course.

Mandy and I had been up with you and Mr. Draven all night and most of the day. I hadn't had any rest for nearly thirty-six hours and was just about asleep on my feet. Mandy convinced me to take a break and get at least an hour of sleep in my office. She said she'd stay with you and come get me if anything happened. I couldn't argue with her and went to my office. Two hours later Mandy woke me and informed me that we had lost Jonathan. I was crushed, for about two seconds. Then Mandy said that you weren't dead but I had to come see for myself.

To say I was a bit confused was an understatement. I think the little minx was actually enjoying seeing me rattled."

"Knowing Mandy, I'd have to say she was. She has a sadistic streak buried in her somewhere," Jonathan joked.

"Hey, I'm right here, you two. You could at least try and wait until I'm out of the room to say stuff like that. Besides, I'm not sadistic, I just like to see people squirm a little," she said trying to defend herself.

Jonathan and Dr. Stevens just looked at her and shook their heads, "then we'd be talking about you behind your back and friends just don't do that sort of thing," Jonathan grinned.

"Doc, finish your story before I do something I might regret later," Mandy stated exasperatedly.

"I'd better finish up, then," Robert said, "We made it back to your room in record time. I think Mandy may even have knocked a little old lady down but I can't be certain."

Mandy gave him a look of dismay, "I'd never knock an old lady down, Robert, it was a nurse and he looked fit enough to take the fall." That brought a fresh round of laughs from the party. Both Robert and Mandy were trying to keep Jonathan's spirits up. They didn't know how he was really taking things. Jonathan wasn't the easiest person to read. He was a master at hiding his true feelings. They had both learned to tell when he was faking but they still couldn't tell what he was really feeling.

"Oh, that's fine then, I make it a point to knock one down every couple of days myself. It keeps them on their toes," Robert continued. He was happy that their normal banter had returned so quickly. It spoke volumes on Jonathan's mental condition. So far in their conversation, he couldn't see much of a mental change at all. He may not look the same but it was definitely Jonathan underneath. While they were in high spirits, he decided to give Jon the rest of the news. He was almost certain Jon already knew he was no longer a man. He had been way too calm about the breasts and hadn't pushed for the final bit of story yet. "I'm assuming that you already know what Mandy was so intent on me seeing for myself"

"I have a pretty good idea that I'm not a man anymore, but I haven't been able to bring myself to confirm it or not," Jonathan answered.

"I'll confirm it for you. I even had x-rays done to make sure we weren't losing our minds. As far as we have been able to determine, you are now fully female. We don't know if you can bear children yet, we are waiting on a few test results to confirm or deny that," Dr. Stevens stated. He waited as his words sunk in to Jonathan's mind. "Jon, how are you holding up there, buddy?"

"I'm…OH hell, I'm just about freaking out, Robert. This is so damn unfair. I have spent the last twenty-eight years learning how to live in my old body. It wasn't easy. Most of the time I absolutely hated it. I never really felt comfortable in it but I had at least learned how I should act and what I should do. Now I feel like I've been knocked back to square one.

I don't know the first thing about being a woman. I don't even know if I want to try and learn how to live all over again. I don't know if I'm even capable of doing it all again. It almost killed me the first time. Damn, what the hell am I going to do?"

"What do you mean, almost killed you?" Mandy asked with a good deal of concern.

This is normally where Jonathan would close himself off. He had always been taught that men are tough and they don't let their emotions get away from them. They don't lose control and, for God's sake, they don't cry. His father never cried. Not once in the twenty years that he lived at home did he see his father cry. He tried so hard to be like his dad. He tried to be strong and not let anything bother him. With a great effort he learned to keep his emotions bottled up and be strong. To the world he was a rock, unbreakable, solid, and at times cold. To himself, he was cold, wasted, and dying.

He had thought about killing himself on more than one occasion. Life had just gotten to be to hard for him. He never felt like he fit in anywhere. He felt like he was always running in slow motion and a step behind everyone else. He had never told anyone that he had felt that way, but he could no longer hold it inside. Twenty-eight years of locked away emotions came boiling up from the deep pit within him.

"Suicide. I can't count the number of times I thought about just ending things. If I wouldn't have met you, Mandy, and started Med Running, I would probably be dead by now. Med Running gave me a reason to live. Helping other people made my life worth living, no matter how hard it was for me. I could always look in the mirror at the end of the day knowing that someone would go on living because of me. Someone would have their mother or father, sister or brother, son or daughter for a little longer as long as I kept on living and doing my job. So I did. And when I wasn't working, I hid from life, just like you said I was doing," Jon rolled away from the others, buried his face in his hands, and cried.

Robert recognized the pain, anger, and frustration in Jonathan's tears. He had felt very much the same thing after Melanie had died all those years ago. Jon's confession had helped piece together the enigma that he was to his friends. He had shown more true emotion in those few seconds than in any other time in his life. They understood him a little better. They didn't know why he felt the way he did, but they knew he had struggled for a long time. Mandy thought it was so unfair to have endured so long only to be driven back by fates cold hand.

She walked around to the side he was facing and sat down. He made a vain attempt to get control of himself. He managed to get to a seated position before being driven under by his tidal wave of emotions. Mandy wouldn't let him turn away again. She reached out and pulled him close to her. He all but collapsed in her arms. His entire body had gone almost completely slack. She could almost feel that he was giving up.

"Don't you give up yet, Dammit!" she almost screamed at him. He made some attempt at quieting himself. Dr. Stevens briefly thought about giving him something to calm him down but decided it was better for him to just let go for a little while. His tears were still falling but he was able to take a breath without gasping.

"I don't know if I can do this again," he struggled to say.

"You can, Jon. I know you can. You aren't in this thing alone. I'll be here to help you this time."

"And so will I," Robert added. "All you have to do is try."

Jonathan couldn't say anything. He only gave them a barely perceptible nod. His thoughts had abandoned him, leaving only his emotions in control. His tears fell for another ten minutes while Mandy held him. Her touch had a calming affect on him and they stayed locked together for another ten minutes before he felt composed enough to break their embrace. The flood of tears had done wonders for him. Finally having let go of all those things he was holding in had left him feeling clear and relieved.

"Thank you Mandy. I really needed that," Jon whispered.

"I kind of got that feeling. A good solid cry always helps," she smiled at him. "Are you feeling a little better?"

"Much better. I'm still not happy with the situation, but I don't feel quite so crushed by it."

"I think that's about the best one could ask for in a situation like this. Can you handle one more little bit of information or should we wait?"

"Go ahead and give it to me. That way I only have to recalibrate my brain once. No, wait, you're not going to tell me I'm pregnant are you? That would send me off the deep end for good," he smiled knowing that it would send him off the deep end.

Robert laughed, "still making jokes after all this? I think you'll make it through this just fine." He remembered Melanie making jokes in tense situations. He realized that for some reason Jonathan reminded him of Melanie. It wasn't anything obvious. It was just her attitude, intelligence, and a hundred other little things. He was even having a hard time thinking of Jonathan as him any more.

The body that he saw was definitely female, maybe not gorgeous, but pleasant to look at. 'That's what our daughter may have looked like,' Robert thought to himself. That thought caught him off guard. He had spent many long sleepless hours thinking about all the things that he and Melanie could have had. Children were his favorite subjects. He had all but created a fictional family for himself. By combining personality traits of Jonathan with the lovely young woman he saw now, he could easily imagine her calling him Dad. That's when he decided to make every effort to help Jon get through this.

"Yo, Earth to Dr. Roberts," Mandy called him, "Lost in thought?"

"Yes, sorry, where were we?" Robert replied snapping back to the here and now.

"The other affects of her, I mean his, sorry Jon, change."

"Yes, of course. How's your tongue feel?" Dr. Stevens asked Jonathan.

"Other than being super sensitive it feels fine. I think I may have bitten through it though. The tip is split," Jon answered.

"I thought it might be more sensitive. When we had you X-rayed, we noticed something strange about the way your mouth was formed. There was an extra organ just above your mouth. I didn't know what it was for. I had a group of doctors from various fields look at it and didn't get any solid answers until our resident reptile enthusiast, Dr. Shaun Travis, said it looked like a Jacobson's organ. After some study, I tended to agree with his observation."

"What's a Jacobson's Organ?" Jon asked.

"It's the super sensitive organ that snakes and lizards use to taste the air around them. You seemed to have developed one."

"What does that mean?" Jon asked.

"Immediately, nothing. Just expect to have a much stronger sense of taste. I expect that you may have other abilities that we don't know of. I'd like to have a friend of mine who has more experience finding and teaching how to use new abilities come and work with you. If that is OK?"

"How long am I in here for?"

"I'd like to keep you for a few days just to make sure you're OK. You managed to contract, burndown, rebuild and recover from RV in three days. That is absolutely unheard of. I don't want to rush you back out of here too early."

"Three days! How the hell can that be?"

"I know I've said this a lot, but I just don't know. That's why I want you to see my friend. He and his team will be able to help you more at this point than I can."
"Looks like I don't have much of a choice. How about a few days after I get out of here? I want some time at home to let me get used to seeing this new body," Jon suggested.

"Sounds fine to me. We'll try and release you on Tuesday. If we can, how about you comeback in Friday afternoon? That should give you a couple days to get recalibrated."

"Works for me. Now will someone please get me a mirror? I'd like to see this new face of mine."

"Certainly, I'll have a full length one brought up. I'm sure you'd like to get a better look at the new you. Anything else you need?"

"How about a shower? And some real clothes?"

"No problem, let me just get you separated from all this equipment. Mandy, you want to handle the clothes issue?" Robert asked as he removed the various monitoring devices.

"Sure, I can handle that. I'll need to get her measurements, though. I'm sure that Jon's old clothes won't fit," Mandy answered.

Robert had gotten everything unplugged and helped Jonathan to stand up. She was a little unsteady at first but quickly recovered her balance. She took a few slow steps to let her brain learn how to deal with the new body. A few seconds later, she was standing next to the window. The warm rays of sunshine felt wonderful on her skin. She opened the blinds to let more in and noticed they were more than ten stories high and had a wonderful view of the city. She got lost in thought as her friends watched.

"There should be a list of her measurements on her chart. Let me check," Robert said as he flipped through a quite large packet of information. "Ah yes, here it is. No, wait, this is from earlier yesterday. We better go ahead and get some that are up to date." He took a measuring tape out of a nearby drawer and walked over to Jonathan. "Jon, I think you should start thinking about a female name. It's really weird to call you Jon when you look like you do."

Jonathan returned his attention to the room, "I suppose you're right. Any suggestions?"

"How about Jenny or Joan?" Mandy offered.

"Do I look like a Jenny?" Jon crinkled her nose in mock distaste.

"No, you don't. It was the first female name that started with a J that I could think of."

Robert had a name in mind that he thought would fit this new woman very well. He was just afraid to voice it. It was the name he would have given his daughter had he had one. He was afraid to get any more emotionally connected than he already was.

"Jessica," Jon said more to herself than to anyone. Robert couldn't believe that he had heard her correctly. That was the name he couldn't bring himself to offer.

"That's a great idea, Jessica. Mind if I call you Jess or Jessie though?" Mandy asked with a grin.

"Jess is fine. What do you think, Doc. Hey, are you OK?" Jessie noticed Robert's obvious look of surprise.

"I think Jessica is a great name. It fits you," Robert answered quickly trying to regain his composure.

"I guess that settles it then. Can we start with just Jess? I'm not ready for Jessica just yet."

"That's probably a good idea," Dr. Stevens said as he was taking the required measurements. She seemed to have leveled out. She wasn't what you'd call curvy but she did have the thin body most girls would kill for.

"I think we can manage that. I'm off to get you something a little less revealing to wear. Be back in a bit," Mandy said with a mischievous look in her eye then left.

"If she brings me a skirt, I'm gonna toss her out that window. I know that look and she's planning something," Jess observed.

"I'd have to agree with you there, Jessie, sorry, Jess. She's a devilish one," Robert agreed. "One last thing, your eyes have changed a little."

"How so? They feel the same to me," Jess stated.

"Mostly, I suspect its just color. They darkened as you were changing. They are now a very dark brown, so dark that they appear to be almost totally black. I hate to say it but they are a little on the creepy side. It's nothing to worry about though. There are always color contacts if it bothers you."

"Am I a monster, Robert?" she asked in a whisper.

"No, Jess, you are definitely not a monster. I imagine that you'll have plenty of guys after you before too long."

"I'm not sure if I like that answer or not. I'm glad I'm not a monster, but I definitely don't have any desire to be someone's girlfriend."

"I wouldn't worry about that just yet. Let's give you a look at yourself. There's a small mirror in the bathroom. You won't be able to see all of you but you'll at least get to see your new face. Go ahead, I've got a few calls to make. If you need me just yell," Robert offered.

Jess started toward the little bathroom slowly but after a few steps she was able to walk normally. Her new body had a slightly different center of gravity but functioned nearly identical to the old one. She was thankful for that. She knew there were going to be a lot of changes in her life and learning to walk all over again was something she didn't want to have to worry about.

She stood in front of the mirror but hadn't turned the light on just yet. Old habits are hard to break and keeping the light off was a very old habit. Some meager light managed its way in through the door giving just enough light to see her new silhouette. Her hair was definitely longer and fuller. Her body was thinner as were her arms. The muscle that she had previously worked so hard for was gone. Years' worth of effort had been taken away in mere hours.

The longer she stood staring at her reflection in the weak light the more details she was able to discern. The dark mass of her hair slowly began showing multiple shades of gray. She got a vague sense of her new facial features. After another minute, it was clear that she would have a different face than she was used to looking back at her from the mirror. Her vision had the same grainy black and white quality that you see in low quality surveillance video.

"A lifetime of learning how to deal with who I was and now I get to do it all over again. It looks like I have a new face to get used to seeing, A new set of rules I have to learn, and a lifetime of experiences that are all but useless and lacking the experience that I will definitely need. Can I do this all over again?

Damn, if I keep thinking like that, I'm going to need a padded room and a jacket that buckles in the back. I hope I'm up for this. I suppose I don't really have a choice in the matter. This sucks. Oh well, I guess it's time to see the new me," Jess said to herself then flicked the light switch on. The light was much brighter than she expected it to be. It stung her eyes for a few seconds before they were able to adjust.

"Son of a," she cursed.

"You OK, Jess?" Robert called from the main room.

"Yes, I'm fine, the light was just brighter than I expected," Jess answered catching site of herself for the first time. She could see why the nurses called her hair flaming, if it was to stand on end someone may very well think her head was on fire. It was just as Robert had said, stunning. "Wonderful, like that won't attract a lot of attention," she said sarcastically.

Her gaze moved from her more than obvious hair to her new face. It hadn't changed as much as she was expecting. There was still a lot the old Jonathan there. A much more feminized version of her old face but close enough that she wasn't a total stranger to herself. "I may not win any beauty contests but I definitely could be worse. At least I don't have any horns or anything," she thought.

She was being overly critical of her new look, just as the old Jonathan had been critical of his own. She was no classic beauty but she possessed a beauty that many, both male and female, would find attractive. Her eyes only managed to add a sense of exotic mystery to her. They were definitely not like any other eyes she had ever seen. They were so dark brown that she had to get very close to the mirror to see where the pupil and iris met.

The last little bit she wanted to get a good look at was her tongue. It was indeed very sensitive and would take some getting used to. She stuck it out and took a good close look at it in the mirror. It was a great relief to see it looked almost like any other tongue other than the tip having about a three-quarter inch split in it. The vision of a long thin snakelike tongue had been plaguing her since she found out about it. She found that she could hold it together so that it looked completely normal without much effort.

"That is creepy. Maybe I should have little horns. Black eyes, flaming hair, horns, and a forked tongue would give me one Hell of a look. Add a pointy tail and I'd be demon girl," She said out loud to herself.

"You're too cute to be mistaken for a demon, Jess. Do you always talk to yourself?" Robert asked.

"Only on days I wake up in a hospital bed after going through the mother of all makeovers," she sighed.

He chuckled, "That's one way to look at it. Are you hungry?" The mention of food seemed to remind her stomach that it was indeed very empty. It decided to answer for her and gave a loud growl. "I'll take that as a yes."

"Sure, but can we get something other than hospital food? I've eaten here before and it wasn't a pleasant experience," Jess asked.

"I think we can arrange that. Can you wait till Mandy gets back with some clothes for you? We could all use something to eat and I'm buying."

"You're buying? Hell, I'm in. I can deal with a grumbling stomach for a little while. What's this theory of yours, by the way?"

"I guess now is as good a time as any. I think that the ability to draw heat out of the air, the very dark eyes, forked tongue and Jacobson are caused by some reptile, perhaps rattlesnake, DNA getting mixed in with your own," he said.

"Interesting theory. I can buy the tongue, eyes, and super taste but reptiles don't actively pull energy out of the air. They just absorb it. And why rattlesnake?"

"It's just a theory and I think that RV may have modified you to be more active than passive, energy wise. I say rattlesnake only because they are so common in the southwest."

"I don't have fangs, do I?" Jess asked feeling around for anything hidden in her mouth.

"No, nothing that we could find at least. Have you found anything that is different than we haven't talked about?"

"Actually, I noticed that I can sense heat and light."

"Interesting, anything else?"

"I think I can see better in the dark than I could before. What does that mean to you?" she asked.

"I can't be sure but you might have a sort of infrared heat sensor. That goes back to possible rattlesnake DNA. According to Dr. Travis, rattlers are pit vipers. That means they have the ability to sense heat by way of special pits near their nostrils. Those pits are supposedly able to detect temperature differences of less than one degree."

"Whoa, why do I get the feeling I'm going to be doing a lot of reading about rattlesnakes in the near future?"

"Because you are one smart cookie, that's why."

Before Jess could come up with some smart ass comment, Mandy returned with a large bag full of various items she had purchased. She walked over and handed the bag to Jess and herded her toward the bathroom. The two of them squeezed in to the small room.

"You know, Jess, I think this might be too small for the both of us. How about we get rid of the boy and get you dressed out there," Mandy said pointing toward Robert.

"Does it really matter if he stays or not? I mean he's already seen me naked," Jess asked.

"Good point, hey Doc, can you handle seeing Jess naked again?"

"I think I'll wait out in the hall. There is no medical reason for me to be in here. Don't take too long, I'm starving," he said as made his way out of the room.

Jess and Mandy returned to the main room. Jess set the bag on her bed wondering what Mandy had in mind for her to wear.

"What did he mean by that?" Mandy asked.

"Oh, he's taking us to get something to eat once I'm dressed. And he's buying," Jess informed her.

"Dinner that I don't have to cook? Sounds good to me. Where are we going?"

"I don't know. I didn't ask."
"Then how will you know what to wear? A girl always needs to know where they are going so they can dress appropriately."

"Can't I just wear jeans and a t-shirt?"

"That depends on where you're going," Mandy answered as she walked toward the door. "Hey Doc, where are we going for dinner?"

"I thought we'd just go to Charlie's if that's good for you two." He answered.

"Barbeque sounds great. We'll be ready in ten minutes," she said then returned to Jess. "OK, Jess looks like jeans and a T for you. We'll save the skirt for another day." She dumped the bag onto the bed and started going through it. After a few seconds she handed Jess a pair of pink cotton panties and matching bra, jeans, and a light blue girl style fine ribbed T. Jess just stood there not sure what to do next.

"Pink? Why did you have to get pink? Why not white, nice simple plain old white?" asked Jess.

"What fun would that be? Jess, you're a girl now and girls wear pink."

"Why do I get the feeling you aren't going to be letting me off easy any time soon?"

"Come on, Jessie, we haven't got all day," Mandy grinned purposely not answering Jess' question.

Jess' brain kicked into gear and she started to get dressed. The panties went on first followed by a struggle with the bra. She couldn't get the clasps done behind her back.

"Whoa, stop, hold on. You haven't had many girlfriends have you?" Mandy said, "Try it the other way. Wrap it around you and do the clasp in front then spin it around and pull the straps over your shoulders."

Mandy's comment about girlfriends had inadvertently triggered a rather painful memory for Jess. It caught her off guard and unprepared for it. She did as Mandy said as she tried in vain to repress the tears that had formed in her eyes. "Honey, what's wrong?" Mandy asked worriedly.

*

  

  

  

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