As the glowing object struck Jake's chest, he was thrown backwards, landing hard in a nearby bush. Pain exploded across his torso, sharp and intense.
'What... what just happened?' Jake thought, struggling to catch his breath.
Suddenly, a strange, translucent screen appeared before his eyes:
[Fusion event beginning...]
Jake blinked, confused. But before he could process what he was seeing, the message changed:
[WARNING: Host body too weak. Fusion momentarily paused...]
A burning sensation began to spread through Jake's chest. He clutched at his shirt, feeling something hot and viscous seeping into his skin. The meteor fragment was melting, fusing with his body.
'This can't be real,' Jake thought, panic rising in his throat.
Then, a deafening roar shattered the night. Jake's hands flew to his ears, but he wasn't alone in his reaction. All around him, people were doing the same. The sound travelled across the entire city and beyond, it was so loud that it seemed to shake the very earth.
The screen before Jake's eyes flickered again:
[Alpha call detected]
[Host must answer Alpha call]
[Body modification beginning]
[Full transformation imminent]
'What does that mean? What does any of these even mean?! What's happening to me?' Jake's thoughts raced.
Suddenly, pain exploded through his body yet again. Jake felt his bones snap, one after another, reshuffling beneath his skin. He screamed, the sound raw and agonized, as his body contorted and changed.
"Help!" Jake cried out, but his voice was lost in the chaos around him. "Someone, please!"
Everyone was running for their lives as more fragments scattered across the city.
The pain was overwhelming, consuming every fiber of his being. Jake's vision blurred as darkness started creeping in at the edges. He fought to stay conscious, but it was a losing battle.
[WARNING: Fusion will cause severe bodily harm]
[Proceed? YES/N0]
'Fusion? What fusion?! What is happening to me?'
"Please just make it stop!" He begged whatever it was that was doing this to him. The pain was unimaginable.
More questions came than answers as another text appeared :
[Affirmative]
[Protocol override initiated]
[Inducing pain relievers into host]
Before he could process the information, his body made the decision for him.
'I'm dying,' was Jake's last coherent thought before everything went black.
But this wasn't for long as he felt a surge of energy, and then—
BOOM!
The sound was like a massive tire bursting, echoing across the valley. In that very instant, his world changed and took a complete turn around.
He found himself in a dark, confined space. There was a small window, offering glimpses of the outside world. It was like peeking through a slit.
But what he saw made no sense. Houses flashed by, then trees, then houses again. The scenery changed so rapidly it was dizzying.
'Am I ...moving?' Jake wondered, disoriented. 'No, I can't be. I'm not even doing anything.'
But as he said those words and he passed by another house in a flash, it struck him.
"Wait...if I'm not doing this...who is?"
He realized he was a passenger in his own body, unable to control or stop whatever was happening. The sensation was terrifying and exhilarating at the same time. He could feel it, he could feel everything. The insane breeze that swept past his face. The way his feet padded across the ground.
"I am moving so fast. It's almost like skating..."
Jake's heart pounded in his chest, the rhythm faster and more intense than he'd ever experienced. His body was moving and doing things he knew ordinarily he wasn't be able to do-No. No human should be able to do such things.
He went by a tall building, hooping through a mast, landing on the roof of another building and then springing forth. Things he was doing at the moment, they were...impossible!!
But that was the thing. He wasn't doing anything.
'This can't be real,' he thought. 'I must be dreaming. Or dead. Is this what the afterlife is like? But I just passed 3rd lane avenue. The afterlife can't have places similar to the city, right?'
Suddenly, a mountain loomed ahead. Jake braced himself, expecting to crash with the speed he was moving at. Whatever was moving him clearly had no sense of direction. Instead, he felt a jolt as his body—or whatever was controlling it— stopped for a second or there about. He could see the very top of the mountain and some bird nest right on a small ledge...wait...
'I can see the top of the mountain from here?!'
But he barely had time to even process how his eyesight became like what...an eagle's?
Just then he felt himself lower to the ground. He was no longer looking up at the mountain but rather looking down at a stone on the ground. It was a large rock and he was standing on it. He felt his hand touch the rock.
'Are those claws?... Wait ... Are those my fingers?!!!' he hadn't seen it before but he was sure that what he saw briefly now were claws and scales too. Large, thick and dark scales covering his hand. He wanted to look again to be sure. Maybe getting knocked out earlier that evening still had its residing effects. But now his face was facing the sky. He was looking at the top of the mountain.
'What am I or is this body planning?'
No answers, just action.
Just then his body leaped into the air. He soared upward, easily clearing twenty feet vertically.
'Holy sh—' Jake's thought was cut short as another warning flashed before his eyes:
[WARNING: Host body cannot handle the strain]
[Emergency protocol activated]
[Preparing for hibernation...]
'No, wait!' Jake tried to shout, but no sound came out. Hibernation, he didn't take science class seriously but he knew that had something to do with when an animal began to shed its skin, right?
He was trapped in his own mind, helpless as the countdown began.
'No...no...no...no hibernation!'
As far as he knew, whenever the strange screen appeared, something bad happened afterwards.
[Hibernation in 5...]
[4...]
[3...]
[2...]
'I'm about to die. I can't shed my skin. ' Jake thought desperately. 'This can't be now it ends. Not after everything that's happened today.'
As the countdown reached its final second, Jake felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him. His vision blurred, the world around him fading to black.
In his last moments of consciousness, Jake wasn't sure if he'd made it to the top of the mountain or if he was plummeting back to earth. The uncertainty was maddening.
'Just not my day, is it?' was Jake's final thought before darkness claimed him completely.