Diego's Tragedy

by Dagon

My name's Diego Wassermann, and I reside in a city near Chicago. The year's 2005. Living near the main artery that flows into Chicago, I seldom have a decent sleep. There is those sound walls, but
they hardly muffle the constant rumble of traffic. I'm about 5'8, and my hair's a chocalate brown. People describe me as a 'hawk', but I don't understand why. Probably because my hearing is more acute then others. Or maybe it's my solemn, sedative-like personality. Well, I don't socialize with other people unless they're amicable. Maybe that's why.

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I had another spasm of shivering, pulling up my hood even more. It already covered my ears,
but the fabric wasn't padded enough to be comfortably warm. I had to trodge though the powdery white snow to my work since my car's trapped in the garage, which makes it a unviable option. The door to my garage door is barricaded by snowdrifts, which makes it even more unviable. Walking down the snow-covered sidewalk, wearing no boots or any footwear whatsoever. This may be hard to believe, but I am slightly inhumane. NOT mentally, but physically. Sadly, I have experienced a rather unfourantate and very unusual events in the past week. I have...changed...SLIGHTLY....reptilic. I am partly a Aptosaurous because this new strain of virus appeared without notice, just about 2 weeks ago. Artifically created in some lab perhaps? It was so insidious that it seemed only a twisted human mind could come up with the ultimate insult, the robbing of humanity. I was one of the victims who experienced full biological mutation and genetic altering, which was one of the symptoms. The virus is aptly named TEK, or Transformative Enstell Kalagar. It only affected certain people; even with the epidemic reaching global proportions, it still only affected about 5% of the population. No one knows otherwise, either. So far, the effects of TEK are unreverseable, threrefore I have to live with this. The animal or creature is absolutely random, or so they think. All this took place in the past 2 weeks, so i'm still very unused to this form. Sighing and shuffling though the snow, I battled the frigid breezes and snow continuously being blown into my face. The only part of me that's changed is my arms and legs. Talons replace my late nails, creating a very interesting twist.
" Hello, Diego. Alittle nippy out there?" My boss asked with a hint of sarcasm as I took off my soggy jacket and hat. I nodded sheepishly and meanderly followed his voice through the coats, hats, gloves, sweaters, and boots obscuring the path to the counter. I worked the 3:00 P.M. to 7:00 P.M. shift Monday through Thursday. Gene was a decent fellow, always tried to make other people's lifes good. He wore glasses, had golden brown hair, and usually loose. When I approached the counter, I saw him tinkering with a trinket of some sort. Looking up from the trinket, he smiled.
" Thanks for coming here without your car. I wanted you to deliver a SPECIAL package that a young man ordered. I'll pay you a extra 50 if you do it. Deal?" He asked unappehensively and lucidly. I slowly nodded, being the silent person I am.
" Alright then. Report to me when you deliver it." He said as he went into the back room. Moments later, he came out with a small box and handed it to me. Gene just noticed my difference, and tried to act casual(although it was a bit too casual).
" I get to it right away. See ya!" I said as I got my stuff back on, and hestitatively headed back out into the frozen tundra of a city.
Walking downwind, it said I had to go all the way to the other side of town. Sheesh! At least Gene switched my coat and stuff with better ones. The hood on the coat completely covered face comfortably. Looking to my right, I saw kids sliding down ice patches, which were at least 10 feet long. The road went downhill from here, so they basically sledded down the hill on ice. Having to turn onto the road, I tried to avoid eye contact with them. One of them must have been pretty capricous because while I carefully proceeded over the ice patch, I was sweeped off my feet by a youngster. Slamming into the thick, solid ice, pain envoloping my body. The good news was I was okay. The bad news was I was zooming down the ice patch, which led into the 30 degree river!
Using my hind claws as brakes, I dug them into the ice. Wincing at the earspitting screech it made, I sat up and kept pressure on my feet. Using leverage, I slowly stopped. Rolling onto the snow, I looked up and glared the 11 and 12 year olds who stood watching. They glared back, trying to act unfrightened. Knowing they were just stubborn, I got up and brushed off the snow on my coat and pants, and started to trodge uphill. Also, it was upwind for about a block to get back where I started. Finally, I reached the top. The kids fled before I got there, dunno when. Picking up the package, I continued onward. I still go to school, so I had to get this delivered. Sistaining a steady speed was indeed difficult; the constant change of wind speed acted like the force of gravity against me, shifting speeds randomly. Rounding a corner, I saw the house on the other side and trodged toward it. Finally, I reached my destination. Dropping the package, I could have sworn I felt the fimiliar feeling of scales crawl up my stomach. Dismissing it as my mind playing tricks, I set the package down and rang the doorbell. Quickly rounding the stone walls that surrounded the house, I headed back down the street. My job was done; I was free from work in the frozen furry-like tundra. Tomorrow was another day, no different(asides the fact that people may gawk at me; they still could have not gotten over that)then any other.

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Driving was difficult for me, as my half way grown talon's got in the way. Last night, I made the horrific discovery that I was slowly becoming more and more beast and less and less human. It's hard to describe what the scales crawling up my stomach feel like. Ever seen those trinkets with lots of rounded pins that you could place your hand on them,
and they would create a imprint of it? Well, ever pressed you hand against the bottom and top of them? That's what the scales feel like. The next morning, I had to shovel the snow out of the way of the garage, which was incredibly fatiguing. Nearly panting from the earlier effort I had done, I turned into the school's parking lot. Getting out, I got my books and headed in, listening to my favorite music.
The commons was full of college students, as usual. Ajusting my books to a more comfortable position, I took a deep breath and walked through the crowd. Luckly, I was waring baggy pants that sagged past my half changed hind claws(my jean were hard to get on without cutting them to ribbons)so hardly anyone noticed. Walking down to my classroom,
I sat down and got ready for another lecture. Mr. Adel was pretty cool. He wasn't dull like Middle school teachers; he'll make you laugh or pay attention one way or another. As he started our lesson I think I saw him show appehension when he looked at me. He just STOPPED in mid sentence, which was unusual for him to stop. Usually, he'll start and slowly progress more and more effectively. Forgetting I wore no shoes, I implusively tapped my hind claw against the floor. Ever tapped your pencil against a desk without knowing it? Well, I did that for the same reason you do. Hearing a crack, I looked down and saw it made a decent sized indention in the cement. Trying to act as casual as I could, I pretended to look back at Mr. Adel. The teenager next to me looked over at me with boredom in his eyes, so I glanced back. Turning, I wrote down notes and such as he talked about mathmatical stuff, don't remember exactly what it was. Trying to write was a task itself. My handwriting was incomprehensible from my standpoint. My slinder sharp claws kept tapping against the desk and paper, and they got in the way of the pencil. Finally, after a long lecture and struggling with writing, the bell rang. Gathering my books and notes, I straided toward the door, hoping Mr. Adel didn't stop me. He didn't; he just gave me a rather quizzical look. Walking through the mass of students, I proceeded to my car.
" Yo Diego! Over here!" Somebody shouted to my right. I recognized the voice as my friend Dante, who was waving to me. I raised my arm, but dropped it immendiately, not wanting to have to explain my dilemma. Dante was similiar to rappers; he used their lingo', and I hardly ever see him without his hood up. Usually he has on a black sweatshirt and jeans. Dispite his similiarities with them, he still his funny and compassionate.
" Hey man whats' up? Haven't seen you in abou' 2 weeks!" He said as he casually approached me, which made me a bit appehensive. Suddenly, I felt the scales literally leap up my chest even more, and I knew that I was close to screwed. I even felt my eye bridge start to move to the side of my face. Luckily, it was moving slowly. I tried to act casual and hide my nervousness, not knowing what he would do if he saw my arms or legs OR my changing body.
" I've been at the hospital, getting treated." This was telling the truth, just not describing what for. I had been at the hospital for diagnosation and treatment, but they said it was the TEK disease, so there was no known cure. Telling me to hope for the best and sent me home. I recall the next night when my arms started to shapeshift. The experience of this was lucid, I remember everything exactly how it happened. It was-
" Oh bummer, sorry ta' hear that. What was going on? Broken leg? Stitches?" Dante asked curiously. Trying to be lucid, my mind raced to think of a excuse.
" Erm, I was rollerskating, and when I was praticing my manuoverbility when I stopped too steep of a angle and fractured my ankle." I said as unrushed and
calmly as I could. Dante stared hard at me for a second, as if he was trying to decide if I was lying or not. Shrugging, he walked back to his car, gunned his engine, then sped off. Dante loved big motors. He also loved girls. He would try to sound cool by putting a hole in his muffler, making a even more of the spitting sound. Standing with my arms(or are they talons?)inside my sleeves, a hard feat not shredding the fabric with my hunting claws. Feeling another spasm of change about to release, I darted into my car. Unfortuantely, I was right. The dry, itchy scales started to reappear in my skin untouched by the change earlier. This time, my face lurched outward, and I felt my jawbone become unhinged and slide into it's new position. Feeling my molars shrink and my regular teeth growing, and at the same time sharpening like sand paper was smoothing them. Immendiately, the most startling wave of scales almost covered my snout instantly. Feeling my rib cage jut out and my Jurassic tail snake out of my pants, I panted at the energy it drained. Getting tired, I tried to stay awake. Although my phsyical appearence changed, my control and mental conpacity was still intact. lifting my cumbersome head off the armrest, I blinked several times. Feeling the stirring stop, I looked out the window at the school. Amazingly, I could read the fine print on the door from about 30 feet away! As if on cue, I began to smell strange things I never smelled before. Like, as the new part of my brain diagnosed, dog meat. The purfume from the teacher walking down the sidewalk. My own scent. Unique, un-replaceable scents. Even my hearing has increased. I could hear the clicking of someone's shoes, the drone of the buses(they are just leaving on the other side of the school)all sorts of things. My brain had to adjust to all of my extented senses. My taste and touch, well, only my taste changed. Sometime during the spasm, my tongue flattened out into a thick, long, slimy cylinder which was actually quite smooth. Just now I noticed my legs had slid into a hunch, making it impossible to drive. Sighing, I gathered all the courage and energy as I could and got out. Sniffing the crisp, dry winter air, I closed my eyes and drove my talon's into my coat pockets. Snow gently swirled around in a magificant, white torrent as the wind spun them into a vortex. Putting one limb in front of the other, I stepped down, almost losing my balance. It seemed the natural posture of this animal is in a hunch. Bending down, my back relaxed as my tail swished the air silently. I got the hang of it and soon was walking home.

Upon entering my house, I smelled all sorts of things. Meat from the fridge, my own unique scent, the incense I had burning was making my eyes water. I used to love the smell incense created, but with this new nose, it was too sharp a scent(it was like achohol in your nose!)made me put it out. Flicking on the lights, I stood idley inside my house, wondering what I should do in this scenario. Thinking hard, I plopped down on to my comfortable couch. I could go to the hospital and explain to them that this is worse then they thought. But they would probably not even listen to me; would you listen to a 8 foot tall(well, standing with my back STRAIGHT, not hunched) Jurassic dinosaur? Probably not. So that was ruled out, and I slumped into the couch, relaxing my legs. My muscles in the lower spine were beginning to hurt; appearentally the dinosaur's anatomy didn't have it sitting upright alot. Deciding that it was pointless, I got onto the carpet, which felt better then the couch, strangly enough. Recalling that I did have a rather smart friend, maybe he could help. Getting up, I wondered what events lay ahead of me. Striding toward my phone with what little hope I had left, I began to start doubting. My mind was making up all sort of dilemma's that could obstruct the path of changing back to my orginal self. What if he couldn't figure out how? What if he was affected with it too? What if he didn't want to help? Trying to shake off these doubts, I picked up the phone. Dialing the phone was hard; I had to use the tip of my claw. Putting it up to what I thought was my ear, the voice of my friend, Jonas, earspitting voice said, " HELLO?" Almost throwing the phone at the cabinet, I turned down the volume; my ears were way too sensitive now.
" Hello?" Jonas repeated, becoming irritated.
" Hello Jonassss, I need your help." Now for the first time, did I really notice my voice changed to a deeper, more raucous tone.
" Who is this? Is this a prank?" Jona's demanded.
" No. It'ssss me, Diego. I really do need your help."
" Why are you slurring your s's? It sounds like you have a forked tongue or something." Jonas hit my number with grim accuracy.
" Jussssst come over to my houssssse. I'll explain everything there."
" .....Uh, ok. Are you sure you are alright?"
" Yessss, i'm in good ssssape. But I need you to promissssse one thing."
" What's that?"
" Pleassse come. I'm in desssperate need of your help. Promissssse?" I asked with a slight tone of hope in my voice.
" Uh, sure. See ya."
" Good bye, Jonassss..." I dropped the phone into it's holder, clicking abruptly. Pondering what to say to him when he gets here. I figure I have about 5 minutes to come up with a way to keep him from high tailing it from my house the second he steps on my doormat. Maybe I could ambush him? No, that would make him even more frightened, and make him even more doubtful that it's me. Maybe wait for him to be at a slight distance from the door, then slam it shut from behind? Maybe. It cut's off his escape route, and knowing him, he would succumb to his curiousity rather then running petrified out the back door. Becoming more and more hopeful by the minute, I heard the door handle jiggle at the front. Silently running to the side of the door, Jona's turned the handle and stepped inside. He sniffed and shivered as he closed the door, since it's frigid outside. Jonas was about 22, normal height and had blond hair. He usually dresses in rather comfortable clothes, never cared for style. " Hello? Diego?" He timidly called. Slowly he walked into the hallway, appearing to be quite cautious. Deciding this was a adequate distance between him and the door, I was about to cut off his route when he spun around, paranoid. I don't think he saw me, because he looked another way again. Normally, he is quite reckless and robust. Today, something is scaring him, besides me. Silently sliding into my position, I gathered courage to reveal myself. At that moment, I felt ready to talk to him yet very appehensive at the same time. Ignoring the hesistate feeling nagging me, I blurted out without any last thoughts, " Hello, Jonassss."

Jonas didn't turn around, but said with a rather pleased tone, " Ah, Diego, You called, didn't you?" I detected a note of dying fear, as if he was relieved to know I was currently inside.
Turning around, his eyes slowly settled upon my form, and I almost bit my tongue, because Jona's expression was priceless. His eyes looked like dinnerplates, and his mouth dropped faster then a brick. He asked in a rather doubtful tone, " Diego, is that you?" He was slowly backing up, but I kept the same distance between us by following him. Slowly I began enclosing the gap between us, and I thought what I should do. I didn't know if I should pounce him and subdue him or coax him, try to make him believe it's really me. Finally, I found my voice(which was in my stomach somewhere) and spoke with as much confidenance and clarity as I could muster,
" Yes. I am Diego. There's way too much to explain; I could not explain it when you will not stop backing up. Please, come over here." I stopped, and tried to not look sinister or dangerous. Which was impossible due to the Jurrassic dinosaur's anatomy, and even when I grinned it looked like I was about to enjoy a meal. Jonas timidly inched toward me, acting like a frightened puppy, volatile to running at the slightest movement. I slowly folded my legs so our heads were at the same height, which was basically sitting as low as I go. Jonas seemed to become more tranquil, then as he edged closer and closer to me. I remained still, feeling like a animal bonding with it's master human. Finally, our faces were merely inches apart, and he began to explore me closer, apperantly marveled by my intercate patterns of scales on my tail, observing my talons, exploring my scaly back. All the while I sat still, feeling a bit embarrassed, exposed, maybe irritated.
Finally, he said in a abrupt, stentorian voice, " You said you could explain it. Please, begin. I'm very interested in your story." I glanced at Jonas, who looked like a schoolchild, eager to learn. Jona's lust for knoweledge was sometimes unsatible, or rather demending at times. Sighing heavily, I began my story and all of the events, which seemed to draw Jona's attention deeper and deeper into thought. Finally, after I finished, he hunched over his legs, envisioning all this and putting it together. I stared blankly out the window, watching the snow silently brushing the window with the icey fur-like crystals. I always enjoyed winter the most for some reason.
" Diego, I never would have thought you, of all people, would be subject to such a strange, remarkable disease." Jonas said, breaking the period of serenity. I nodded bitterly, laughing at the chances of THIS happening. One in a million! Or....., maybe...this isn't just pure coincidence. I glanced back at Jonas, who seemed to be deep in thought again.
" Jonas, is there anything you can do? At least do something to cover up my appearence?" I asked impatiently. He looked up, returning to reality to see who disturbed his thoughts. Shaking his head with sadness, he got up and paced around like a caged tiger. Staring back out the window, I felt lonely for the first time, aching for someone who shared the dilemma I was inn, a TEK victim who undergone trasformation. Just then, my phone rang. Automatically Jonas walked excuberately to my phone, picking it up. I felt like glaring at him; he had a tendency to answer all phone calls. I don't know why, maybe he doesn't get alot. All of this took place with the constant drone of highway traffic of beeping, honking and the occasional yelling.
" Wassermann residence, Jonas speaking." He said plainly. Nodding to himself, he laughed and held the phone to me.
" It's for you, of course." He flatly spoke. I fumbled with the phone, putting it up to my ear.
" Hello, Diego sssspeaking." I said, anxious to see who it was.
" Yo man! Somethin is going on, really freaky. I don't know what's happening to your girlfriend, but she called me when you didn't answer. She sounded like a freight train! If I were you, I head on over there to find out what's going on!" I sat there, dumbstruck. My girlfriend, whom I dated for several years, was my only other friend. She was my true love; vibrant red hair cut to her neck, beutiful, slender body, and a mind to go with it! She was very thoughtful, and she could cook like no one else! She loved me just as I loved her; a perfect match. slamming the phone into the receiver, I stated stone coldly, " WE are going over there NOW." My voice was very clear and straight; Jonas almost whimpered in fear. Towering over him, I almost bashed the door down with immense strength, not caring how I appeared. Jonas ducked into a bush, sweating with fear. I could have eaten him if I wanted to; it's not hard to find a scent. Since i'm about 8 feet tall, I tried to at least act sensible; lumbering through the forest, I thought about all the delimmas Vensta, my girlfriend, could be in.

To be continued........