Mind and Flesh Read online

I already completed my objective.

  Did I?

  I don’t know anymore.

  I should check my data on the computer. It’s right in front of me.

  I stare at the screen.

  I can’t make anything out of it.

  What is even there?

  This is frustrating. Did I complete my project or not?

  I have no clue!

  I am on a path, in a forest.

  Sloping ground.

  I am hiking.

  Green moss on the trees.

  I am relaxed.

  I keep walking.

  But for some reason I can’t walk straight.

  I look for a stick.

  I see one of the ground and pick it up.

  It has the perfect size.

  I resume walking, using my new stick for support.

  Everything is fine now.

  I look at the sky.

  The clouds make hazy and undistinguishable shapes.

  I keep looking.

  For quite some time.

  The shapes are moving but I can’t resolve them.

  It is still likeable to watch.

  I am relaxed.

  I decide to keep on walking.

  I am still following the path.

  It seems to go down.

  I am just walking.

  Not worried about anything.

  It feels great.

  My faithful stick is keeping my step confident and my pace steady.

  Suddenly, I catch a glimpse of movement from the corner of my eyes.

  It’s on my right side.

  I quickly turn my head in the direction of the movement.

  A doe.

  It is motionless now.

  Right in the center between two trees.

  Standing on a big root, under its front hooves.

  It is staring at me.

  Is it judging me?

  I am not doing anything wrong right now.

  Just walking on a set path.

  Should I walk towards it?

  It seems harmless.

  What feels wrong then?

  Ah, yes. A doe should be afraid of a human.

  Well, not this one apparently.

  I walk closer to the doe.

  As I walk closer, the doe moves backwards.

  I reach the big root where it was standing on.

  The doe moved back exactly the same distance that I walked from the path to the root.

  Anyway.

  I walk back to the path.

  I will just go on my way again.

  Wait.

  When I was not looking at it, the doe moved.

  Its front hooves are back on the root.

  I don’t know what to make of it.

  I don’t like standing in place, so I decide to go back on the path.

  I don’t care about does, anyway.

  After walking for a few meters, I suddenly turn my back.

  The doe is on the border of the path.

  At the same distance as usual.

  It followed me.

  I turn round and get back on walking.

  I am sure that the doe is still silently following me.

  A weird doe is not going to cripple the enjoyment of my hike.

  I walk and decide to not turn back my head to look at the doe anymore.

  The sky starts to look dark.

  It progressively goes from light blue to menacing grey.

  The doe is not going to kill my hike, but a rain would.

  I start to walk faster; perhaps I will reach the destination of the path before it starts to pour.

  But now that I take a better look at my path, I don’t really know where it is leading.

  The trees are blocking my view on all sides.

  Oh well, I just need to go on.

  Thunder starts to rumble.

  I need to hurry.

  I decide to take a glance backwards to see if the doe is still behind me.

  Indeed, the doe is standing at a safe distance, on the side of the path.

  I won’t be the only one soaked.

  White shapes start to pour down the skies.

  It is still a bit farther away.

  Didn’t reach my area yet.

  Since I keep walking, I will reach the place where everything is gradually covered in white.

  As I get closer, I begin to realize that it looks less and less like snow.

  Documents… hundreds, thousands of papers are falling down the sky and covering the land.

  A few papers gently fall on me and slide down my feet.

  At least I won’t get soaked.

  As I walker further, it is becoming harder and harder to distinguish the path.

  Papers are slowly drifting down the branches as if they were bleeding white.

  Eventually, the whole ground is covered in white.

  Anyway, the path is where there is bigger space between the trees.

  Well… I guess.

  Must be.

  I keep walking.

  Now there is a bigger layer of documents under my feet.

  I feel the papers sinking in at each step.

  I stop for a moment.

  I probe at the documents with my stick.

  I stab a few of them together, holding up the stick and shaking them off the tip.

  This is oddly enjoyable, so I repeat it again a few times.

  Enough now.

  Back to walking.

  On the path.

  Maybe.

  I hope so...

  I don’t like when things become uncertain.

  Even so, I’ll just walk.

  What better would I do anyway... something moved.

  White on white, but there is a definite relief.

  It is small.

  THEY are small.

  Two bunnies.

  They seem to struggle to move in the layers of paper.

  Is the doe still following me with all of this, by the way?

  I turn my head towards the doe… and turn it back towards the rabbits.

  Something out of place caught my attention.

  The color red.

  The rabbits are open wide, intestine lying around, organs facing up, brain splattered.

  All around them, sprays of thick red blood.

  A document falls in front of my eyes, blocking my view.

  As I get rid of it with my hand, something has changed again.

  There is no red anymore, just white.

  The rabbits are alive and well, running away toward the trees.

  As I remain in awe, they disappear in the white scenery.

  I am sitting on an armchair.

  My sister and I are playing a boardgame.

  Most of the plastic figures on the map are hers. She is winning.

  My father is watching us play.

  He comments that she is so smart, she will accomplish a lot in life.

  My mother tells me to man up so I do not lose to a girl.

  I am in a hallway.

  Columns of different shapes and sizes. They are ugly as always.

  The institute where I work.

  I come here every day. As always I frown at these stupid columns.

  I walk towards the turnstile.

  I swipe my security card on the card reader and wait for the light to turn to green.

  Still red.

  I press the card on the reader again.

  Still red.

  Shit, what is going on?

  I turn around, and there are other turnstiles circling me.

  I try another to swipe on another card reader.

  Still red.

  What the fuck is going? I don’t like that.

  I can’t open any of these shitty things.

  I am trapped!

  I push a turnstile.

  It won’t budge.

  I try to kick the next one.

  It doesn’t turn! I am trapped!

  I want to move! I want to get away!

  I
am in a room.

  A huge room.

  There are glass panels all around, it is very bright.

  A lot of people are wandering around.

  Someone is close to me.

  Probably my wife.

  I get closer to the large windows.

  My vantage point is very high.

  On top of the city.

  An ocean of buildings.

  I look down.

  Queues of cars moving with their six insect legs.

  I do not want to be in line with them.

  I want to stay up here, free of their flow, of their vacuous activity.

  I sense that something is wrong.

  I turn around.

  The people around me also have ant legs instead of their own limbs.

  Their faces express both pain and happiness.

  They look at their growing insect limbs with awe.

  But their teeth are clenched.

  Their faces start to distort more and more.

  Their flesh seems to melt.

  Pieces of flesh and skin swell, other pieces shrink and become flabby.

  The flesh starts to pour down, completely distorting the shape of the… creatures.

  Streams of agglutinated and half-liquid flesh are coming from their bodies.

  Lumps of various sizes make the stream look more gelatinous than liquid.

  It is disgusting. I am sick of seeing it.

  I look around for an exit.

  Most of the floor is now covered.

  I don’t want to touch that.

  I step back towards the window.

  I glance back outside, to the city.

  Torrents of flesh are running among the buildings.

  It keeps increasing in height.

  I can barely see the roofs of the smaller buildings.

  To the horizon, I see the flesh starting to pour on the countryside.

  All will become one with the flesh.

  I don’t want to.

  I am… Me.

  I look back at the room I am in.

  It is almost filled with flesh.

  Which is about to swallow me up.

  I start to panic.

  No escape.

  I hit the window.

  It doesn’t shatter.

  The flesh is touching my feet.

  It is warm.

  Now touching my right arm.

  The touch feels soft and viscous.

  But very warm.

  I want to remove my arm.

  It grips me!

  Flesh has now reached my knee level.

  I am in panic.

  I lose control and move my arm furiously.

  I don’t feel my arm anymore…

  A sudden wave of flesh envelops me.

  My vision becomes dark.

  I try to move every part of my body.

  I want to scream but I keep my mouth shut.

  I don’t want any flesh in.

  I can’t feel both my arms.

  I must assume they are now part of the flesh.

  I kick on the ground with as much force as I can.

  The upper part of my body manages to extirpate from the mass of flesh.

  I take a deep breath.

  And scream.

  Scream all the strength from my body.

  What were my arms are lumps of flesh connected to the flesh behind me.

  I can’t take this anymore.

  I hit the window with my head.

  Again.

  Again.

  Again.

  It starts to shatter.

  Suddenly, the flesh pressing against the windows dislodge them altogether.

  The windows fall off the building.

  I try to follow them.

  My feet can’t leave the flesh.

  My shoulders are still connected to the flesh.

  I bend down as much as I can.

  My head is outside.

  I feel the wind.

  Another wave of flesh pours down the building from the windows.

  I am flushed away with the flesh.

  I see the ground getting closer and closer.

  Panic.

  Overridden by panic.

  Fear.

  My heart is beating so hard I can feel it trying to escape from my chest.

  “Can you see anything?”

  “Only shapes and blurs. I can maybe make out what it represents at times to times, but that ain’t helping much.”

  “And are there reactions when we talk and ask him something?”

  “Err… Maybe? Perhaps a little, but it is too chaotic to interpret. I am trying to sharpen the output but I have no idea how!”

  “But you participated in the construction, no?”

  “Yes. The mechanical and electronical parts. Not the rest! Not the software and the display. And this seems a whole different beast from the previous versions. ”

  “Shit. If only we had more information…”

  “Then we wouldn’t be doing all that crap.”

  “Indeed. We need to think about something. ”

  “Do we have time left?”

  “Doc?”

  “Yes, condition is stable.”

  “Ok. Keep it that way. ”

  I am on a plane.

  My wife is sitting next to me.

  She is sleeping.

  I look through the window.

  A sea of clouds.

  A white layer among the blue.

  The clouds look soft and comfortable.

  I wish I could just lie down on them.

  Something grabs my hand.

  Surprised, I turn my head in that direction.

  My wife took my hand.

  She is not sleeping.

  I feel the warmth of her hand.

  This situation is relaxing.

  She is smiling.

  I look around in the plane.

  Suddenly something weird attracts my attention.

  Behind us, at the very end of the seats.

  Two stewardesses are making out.

  They kiss.

  One has a hand in the skirt of the other one.

  While the other one has a hand in the top of the uniform, buttons open.

  I can see a nipple appearing briefly at intermittent intervals.

  I feel harder in my pants.

  My wife lets go of my hand.

  She puts her hand on my crotch.

  I don’t want her to know why I am hard.

  I feel ashamed.

  I look through the window again.

  My head starts to spin.

  The skyline shifted.

  Am I falling?

  The plane is pointing down.

  Meshes of clouds quickly pass against the window.

  After a few moments, no more clouds.

  I see the ground.

  Lines. The roads.

  Infinite streams of cars.

  Aligned like ants.

  Then I see the city.

  Buildings everywhere.

  The plane lands.

  I get out of the plane.

  I enter the airport.

  A long, straight corridor.

  There is a moving walkway.

  I step on it.

  I feel shaken right.

  Then left.

  I can’t get my balance right.

  I fall.

  I am standing again.

  My head is spinning.

  I feel that my leg is getting bigger.

  My arms are getting bigger too.

  I am bouncing around.

  No balance.

  I feel my heart racing.

  Panic.

  I am moved forward.

  But I still feel a few steps backward.

  My body is bent in two.

  My big arms try to grab something.

  I fall.

  I bounce up.

  I fall.

  With what control I have left, I jump on the side.

  I am back on normal g
round.

  I still feel dizzy.

  My arms and legs are still abnormally big.

  I try to shake them.

  Nothing changes.

  I need to put my mind off them.

  I keep walking in the corridor without stepping on the moving walkway.

  I feel better. I can maintain my balance.

  I arrive at the security desk.

  Three individuals in uniform seem to be waiting for me.

  They say I have to consent to a random control.

  One of them is grinning.

  They ask me what is inside my bag.

  I look on my shoulder.

  I am carrying my laptop in its shoulder bag.

  I say that I have a laptop.

  They ask me to follow them.

  The female one leads the way.

  She asks me to sit on a simple chair in a small room.

  There is just a table.

  They ask me to put my laptop on the table.

  I don’t want to.

  All three are looking at me.

  I don’t have a choice.

  I open the bag and take the laptop out.

  I drop it on the table.

  They switch it on.

  No!

  Don’t do that!

  I try to grab the laptop.

  One of them catches my arm.

  Another one tells me that I don’t have the right to oppose them.

  And that they have the right to check on anyone.

  This is stressing me out.

  The female one introduced something in an USB port.

  She bypasses my password.

  No no no! Don’t!

  I am sweating.

  She starts to browse.

  She finds my porn directory.

  No!

  She smirks at me.

  Get away from my computer!

  I panic.

  I start to throw my hands and my feet in any direction.

  The two men grab me tighter.

  She plays a video.

  More sweat.

  More uncontrollable movements.

  She laughs.

  I can’t escape.

  I want out!

  She starts to browse other folders.

  No!

  I don’t want her to find anymore.

  What more is there on my laptop?

  Did I hide or delete everything on this travel computer?

  Porn shouldn’t be here, how could I let this slide?

  I feel my mind hurting.

  I am sweating.

  I try to shoot the laptop with my feet.

  I am in a laboratory.

  Everything is starch white.

  The walls. The benches.

  The lights.

  The table.

  The rabbits aligned on the table.

  I am walking down the street.

  It is already dark.

  Street lights are on.

  The lights gave a yellow taint to their surroundings.

  Other people are walking to.

  I pass by them without looking.

  After some more walking, I notice an ATM.

  I stop there and look at the screen.