I realized, as I showered with fur for the first time, that this was going to be one of the most annoying things about being a dog.

I scrubbed my almost fully grown coat of fur with dog shampoo. I shuddered slightly, thinking about how it was meant to prevent fleas. Although this was a really unpleasant experience, I did not like the thought of bugs living in my fur.

The act of scrubbing was exhausting. It was easier than when I'd washed a dog before, as the subject was not trying to escape - even though I would've liked to. But getting deep into it all took a lot of effort. It also felt weird with my now fully formed pads on the end of my fingers and my palms.

Finally I decided I was clean, turned the water off, and shook vigorously. I felt pain for Mom and Dad as I dried off. There was going to need to be a number of towels full of my hair now. Mom and Dad also were not looking forward to me just shedding everywhere - apparently golden retrievers shed a lot more than other dogs. There was a lot of gross wet fur that I had to clean up from the shower drain. Hopefully I could convince Mom and Dad to keep it to a weekly activity.

After prolonged use of hair dryer though, I had to admit, it did feel nice to see my coat look golden and shiny. What did not look nice however was my reflection in the mirror, and what would likely be one of my last changes.

I was growing a muzzle. It now stuck out about a half inch from the rest of my face. On the plus side, it was feeling easier to keep my tongue in my mouth now that it had more space. But of course, on the negative side... I was growing a muzzle. I licked my snout, now fully formed.

I had to get used to the fact that this was me now. This is what I was going to see in the mirror for the rest of my life. There were moments of lucidity where I suddenly broke out of what felt like a dream, and screamed in my mind "oh my gosh, I am becoming a dog."

It oddly though didn't look as deformed as I'd expected. Jackie and I looked like dogs walking on two feet with clothes, but our body and our faces still retained the same looking structure. Jackie had her canine features, but her cheekbones, forehead, and things like that had not changed.

And in the mirror, other than my changing jaw, I still looked strangely like myself. I felt a bit uneasy that I still was recognizable. I couldn't just become a nobody. But I felt a bit of comfort from that familiarity. It was still me. There were those times that I had weird thoughts like "I wonder what dog food tastes like" - but I still had the same personality. I had the same interests. I was just dog boy now.

I came out of the bathroom, frustrated as I tried to adjust my clothes in a way that wouldn't ruffle my fur. It was impossible. Jackie sat on her cot playing the Switch. She'd put off showering till tomorrow, but she had gotten dressed - she was wearing a light yellow blouse and an aqua blue skirt. I hadn't realized till now how she'd avoided such cheerful colors.

"I like your outfit," I said, "it looks pretty."

Her ears perked up and she briefly grinned widely, then pulled it back to a more subdued level.

"Thanks... and you look much less mangy after that shower."

"I better," I said. "That was like combing the grass on a golf course."

I sat down and started playing Stardew Valley with her.

"Hey Matt"

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Do you... do you think that with all the news out about this now, and us being almost through this... do you think they'll let us go home soon?"

I sighed. "I want to go home. I also don't want to."

"Same," Jackie said. "I just know that the moment I step back into my room... I'll realize that we won't be returning to our old life."

I tried to think of a reassuring response. Instead, I held her hand. That seemed to be enough for her. I gave myself another point for somehow responding appropriately around girls.

The door opened. I thought that it was Melina coming in to do our check up - and in a way it was, but Mom and Dad, and Jackie's mom were also there too. They didn't have masks, and they were wearing their winter jackets.

"Hey -"

"Pack up your things," Dad interrupted me, "it's time to go."

"Wait - like, now?"

"Yes, now," Mom said, packing up my stuff in the suitcase next to it.

"What's going on?" I asked Dad.

"This place is crumbling apart," he said, "I got a tip that we need to get out of the lab sooner rather than later. I'm not working here anymore."

"But Dad," I said, "you're not in like the head management, and you're not even the head of the department that actually worked on the cancer treatment."

He firmly put his hands on my shoulders. "Matt, I don't know how much you've been following the news, but this is the last occupation on earth you'd want to be involved in right now. All the governments in the world are enraged about what's happened, and even though I'm just a small cog in the machine, the last thing I want is to be picked out."

I helped my Mom shove my things into my suitcase, and raised an eyebrow as I watched Dad unplug the Switch and pack it up along with my things.

"Dad... you aren't... looting, are you?"

"Requisitioning reimbursement," he rephrased, "and besides, I bought this for a break room years ago at the request of a higher employee and the company never paid me back."

I was taken aside for a moment by Melina.

"How are you two feeling?" She asked, "any specific pains?"

I reached up and felt around my growing muzzle. "Some in the jaw."

"Yeah," Jackie agreed.

Melina sighed. "Not much time to do formal testing. At very least, from what I've observed, the changes aren't causing cancerous mutations. It's rather startling how well your bodies have adapted - you're essentially completely healthy."

"I guess," Jackie said.

"You're still yourself," Melanie said, "your appearance has changed, but overall you can still function fine."

My attention drawn to my changes, I glanced behind me at my tail, wavering slowly in the air, not hanging limply. I adjusted my shirt, still uncomfortable with all the fur underneath.

My parents zipped up my suitcase as Jackie's Mom finished as well.

"Dad?"

He turned to me.

"Why are you so desperate to leave in a hurry like this?"

He took on a firm, stoic expression. "That's not important. Let's not waste any more time."

I followed them to the door, and stood hesitantly as the opened it for me. Just like that, I was being let back into the normal world. I wasn't sure how much I wanted to go into that place - into the unknown.

Dad, to my surprise, pushed me through and forward. My walking was unsteady as my more paw like feet clacked against the tile flooring. I realized that I hadn't put on a jacket or even any shoes.

Jackie's Mom whispered something to Melanie, who nodded, and then took a turn down an adjoining hallway. Something was going on. I found all of it extremely concerning.

We were soon passing more and more people. Most glanced at us in surprise, and then quickly walked away, or acted like they hadn't noticed anything. No one stopped us though until we neared the front reception area.

"Dr Hewitt," a security guard said to Dad, "you have violated the mandated two week quarantine for the patients."

"They are not contagious," Dad said, "and we have obtained most of the data we realistically could from them."

"You are breaking company policy -"

"Which I don't really care about considering that I just resigned. Get out of my way Patrick before I do something stupid."

Patrick the security guard stood aside.

"You should've just waited," he said, "Now you're -"

"I'm not letting Matt and Jackie sit around for something worse to happen. They're going home."

Patrick did not resist us further. We finally went through the main doors. I was expecting the frigid shock of the cold, but I surprisingly felt little, even as stepped barefoot into the packed snow covering the parking lot.

It was an extremely strange sensation - like if I had stepped into a mountain lake to find it as warm as a hot tub. Perhaps I would not be wearing jackets much anymore.

I walked with Mom and Dad to the car as Jackie and her Mom split off. When we got inside, I started to speak, but Mom held her finger to her lips as Dad made a phone call.

"Yes," he said. Silence. "Don't worry." More quiet. "No I haven't done this before, but I know what I'm doing. We just have to do each of our parts right. Okay, bye."

"Who was that?" I asked as Dad started the car.

"Jackie's Mom," he said.

"Couldn't you just -"

"No," Dad said, "then we'd have been seen on the security cameras."

I cocked my head in confusion, and my ears stood up slightly. "But there are security cameras in the building -"

"That only saw concerned parents that acted rashly in a fit of uncertainty," Dad said, "and nothing more."

"Dad....," I asked, "what is going on?"

He let out a long exhale, and didn't answer until he'd pulled onto the main road.

"It's better that you know as little as possible Matt," he said. "But yes, we are doing something illegal. For that reason it is better that you do not have much that can incriminate you. Just know this - Generation was packing up shop. They had no intention of letting us study solutions to the problem. They wanted to pilfer what they could from all this, and start something new. We're just making sure that they have as little spoils as possible."

I subconsciously gripped my fingers around my tail, holding onto it as some kind of means of stress relief or comfort.

"When we get home," Mom said, "as far as Ashley knows, they just decided to let you out early, alright? Not a word of this."

"Okay," I said quietly. "Are we... in danger?"

Dad was quiet for a bit. "No, I don't think so. As long as we don't draw undue attention to ourselves."

"Isn't that what we just did?" I asked.

"No," Dad said, "there is a civil war basically going on with the company heads, and all over the company stuff is a madhouse. I just... can't state enough Matt, please, use common sense. Do not tell your friends about anything shady going on. I trust you to be a responsible adult."

I swallowed. "Okay. Not that I really feel like talking to my friends."

"You'll need to get back into some kind of normal life," Mom said, turning around to look at me. "We didn't rescue you just so that you could lock yourself in our house instead."

"Being honest Mom and Dad, it's already uncomfortable enough being around you. I see how you look at me. How you seem on edge, like I'm about to become some violent beast."

Mom's face went white.

"Matt," Dad said, "we do not think that in the slightest. I worked on this in depth, and your mother understands this nearly as well as I do - better in some ways, that she helped me work on this all those years ago. Understand that this is not some automatic response, it is not just a cliche - we love you. I fought tooth and nail to save your life all those years ago, and I am not going to abandon you now right when you feel so alone and excluded from everything."

"We don't care," Mom said, "what you look like, honestly. It will realistically take time for us to adjust to it, and you'll have to have patience with Ashley as she does the same. We'll try our best to not force you, but you can't trap yourself in your room for the rest of your life."

I sighed, licking my snout. "It just sucks. There's not much more I can say."

"At least it didn't happen around Christmas," Mom said.

"Yeah," I said, "I suppose. Happening now though I didn't think that January could get more depressing."

"Things will get better," Mom said. "We'll help you adjust. I am not going to let you feel like we've left you to fend for yourself."

I didn't say anything more on the ride home. My head was just extremely mixed up. Something was going on. I felt a morbid curiosity to find out. On the other side I felt intense fear to avoid that at all costs.

But I figured it would be best to forget. After all, I had much bigger problems.




Y'all better darn appreciate the effort I take to put these italics in for you.


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