June 1st, 2022
Midnight, rainy
Glass cracking.
Spores of some kind, still being studied and observed, had seeped through the cracks like poison. No one in the lab had noticed the small, minuscule cracks until one of my fellow scientists looked closer at the strange, blue spores. They had tried to look closer at them in the hopes of seeing something different about the spores; To identify them better, so to speak. I told them it was something dangerous, something we hadn’t recognised about the shrooms yet.
But, that’s when the strange smell seeped through the containment tube. At first, none of us questioned it. The otherworldly mushrooms had a smell no one could pinpoint, only, that it smelled sweet; That made the other scientists and I realize the tank was leaking the poisonous spores like air.
The lead scientist started getting everyone to wear gas masks while leaving the area of the broach. Unfortunately, the airdocks had detected the gas and activated emergency protocols.
“WARNING! All personnel evacuate the area!”
That same, robotic voice known as the AI of the sector blared out from the speakers of the room. Everyone got out of the sector in time, before the AI sealed the area off from any newcomers; To sanitize the ‘infected’ zone as the AI put it.
Something has been eating at me since then.
Something that I wonder about, that our lead scientist hasn’t considered yet; I don’t think.
Since the others and I had inhaled the spores before we put on the masks, what would happen to us? Will we get ill? Those mushrooms are not regular, nor are the spores they produce.
-Doctor Bertram Wolff
June 5th, 2022
afternoon, sunny
Something isn’t right. I awoke in a haze, my thoughts far more hazy than usual. An ache so slight it was merely background noise that had swelled in my gums overnight. Both my gums and my brain felt…like static from a TV. I told the others about it in hopes of it just being me, but the others had put their own symptoms in the air.
Further concerning my still-foggy thoughts.
Everyone else I worked with in that sector had the same problems arise seemingly over the past three days…It’s concerning to us, our lead scientist, on the other hand, seems content thinking it’s just some bug going around.
A bug? A bug?
My gut says otherwise, but, unfortunately, the lead scientist won’t listen to it; Now will they?
June 10th, 2022
Midnight, cloudy
It’s getting worse. The slight static-like feeling that had nuzzled its way under my gums has gotten worse. The others got better, they held no remainder of their symptoms or concerns; I don’t understand.
Why am I getting worse while they get better?
…
I went to talk to them about the symptoms while our sector lead wasn’t there and wasn’t staring down our every move. They had proclaimed their problems had ‘eased away’ so to put it. Further proving the ‘bug’ explanation. I wish I could push this feeling of gut-turning worry away; To see it as a simple false alarm of fear.
This…discomfort is slowly eating away at my nerves as I write this entry. It isn’t going away…Even now it feels as though heat is humming under the sides of my gums, discomfort is rising, and drool just keeps pooling up like a river. Something I’m panicking about mentioning to the others…
My jaw aches and it’s hard to open my mouth now.
It feels as though my jaw is rusted, but, it…doesn’t hurt yet.
June 12th, 2022
Midnight, raining
…(The beginning of a sentence that wasn’t finished. Saliva drops and blood dot the page.)
(Shaky handwriting at the bottom of the page roughly reads “It hurts”. Nothing else on the page is readable, strange symbols written in a trembling manner are scattered on the other, equally as messy, side.)
-——————————————————————————————————————————-
Pain.
The pain began festering under his gums like an infection over the last couple of entries. A plight that wormed panic in as the scientist came to consciousness, dots and shadows swarmed his vision like flies. An awful, gut-retching feeling twisted his stomach into a knot as it became apparent.
In a staggering blur, he pushed himself from the rough covers and towards the bathroom. Each step was accompanied by sludgy tiredness. The bleak living space had grown on his nerves over the last couple of days; its plain walls and lack of personality could needle at anyone. At least, he could add some colour to the bathroom, away from the sector leader who preached about codes and rules.
Pushing open the door, he drowsily dragged a hand over the light switch. Causing a pale white light fit for surgery to flood the room, forcing his eyes shut. Strange, warped images flashed in the darkness of his eyelids before he pulled them open again. The scientist took a glance at the mirror, only for him to take a second look at the reflective surface with concern.
It wasn’t the messy, dark hair or bags under his eyes that caught his attention; no, it was the swelled cheeks that possibly hid inflamed gums that held his gaze. Realization hit him a moment later, his stomach dropped at the realization.
He couldn’t open his mouth.
It felt like his jaw wouldn’t budge at his demand, the joints furiously locked tightly in place like a statue. Pain and discomfort burned at the pleading demand every time; tears of panic lightly tugged at the corners of his eyes. Huffs of inflating worry puffed through his nose as he gently felt the swelled cheeks. Wolff’s cold fingers grazed the skin before slightly pressing further against the problem.
Terror crawled up his spine, digging its cold claws into his thoughts. Carefully, he used one hand to slowly and painfully open the locked jaw, his other hand applying pressure to the left jaw hinge. J-just calm down. Maybe I’ve just got an abscessed tooth that simply…showed itself? A-and the pain’s just locking my jaw up! I-it’s fine!
At least, that’s what made the most sense to him.
Resistance pushed against his attempts, tightening the joints further; A wounded sound escaped him as the muscles tensed and burned, and the hidden gums suddenly felt tight; Painful and burning.
Stinging agony exploded through the hot flesh, forcing Wolff to lean over the bleak bathroom sink, both hands on the sides to hold him steady. Pinkish saliva dripped into the sink like foamy toothpaste. With nerves tightened into a ball, he tried to calm himself.
Something stirred under the tense gums, something hidden from his gaze. Horror lunged into his throat like a praying mantis. Disturbed panic twisted and churred in his stomach as the feeling returned, stronger this time. Every alarm bell rang loudly in his skull, deafening his senses. Glancing up at the mirror, he met his reflection’s terror-filled eyes, tears pooling at the corners.
The things in his mouth moved again. The sides of his gums tensed as they pulled towards the inside of his cheeks, forcing a muffled cry from Wolff. The joints of his jaw stiffen worse, painfully worse. Smaller limbs pushed and shoved through the gums, tearing through them like coarse paper. Muffled noises pressed against his clenched teeth, barely being heard. Tears blurred his vision, making the bathroom sink appear as though it were out of frame.
Sharp, pointed tips poked and prodded behind his closed lips, carefully testing the shut flesh on their own. Chills crawled down his spine, pain throbbed from his tore gums like a gunshot wound.
The tension in his jaw slowly, and forcefully loosened, allowing painful use of his mouth once more. The bones aching and throbbing, cracking open like a rusted robot; Through his blurry vision, he looked into the mirror once again; Only, this time he had to hold in a scream of horror, fear, and panic.
Every thought mixed and twisted into a cocktail of emotions.
Wolff’s mouth shakingly opened, bloody saliva washing over his lips like a waterfall. Dipping onto the pale sink and himself in a string of bloody foam. The two extra attachments in his mouth pushed out against his say, bodily liquids covering their colours, but not hiding what they were.
Mandibles.
Trying not to faint from shock, he tried to connect his brain to their movements; Trying to control them. The thin, and weak insect limbs twisted and folded in as he closed his mouth. A strong, thick copper-like taste lingered on his teeth, on his tongue, making the scientist want to rinse with mouthwash more times than necessary. What if the mouthwash harms the…mandibles? I mean, they still look weak, and I might feel it if that happens…so…maybe not. I’ll just clean all the blood off and pray no accidents happen…
-——————————————————————————————————————————-
June 20, 2022
Midnight, clear skies
Over the last couple of days, I’ve struggled to control the extra limbs. I mean, it’s not an unusual problem considering the human mind isn’t prepared for this sort of situation. The main issue is that they tried to fly out as I was talking to Lizzy about the reports. She was looking at the observation window, her eyes as focused as ever when out of nowhere they tried to come out. Of course, my hands flew to cover my mouth, causing an abrupt stop in my sentence.
She, luckily didn’t notice.
Gods.
My anxiety is rising with every passing day. What if someone sees them? What if I can’t cover them in time? I can’t even fathom the thought of them moving because I thought so. I wish it were as unconscious as breathing or moving a cup from a cat. You know, something you don’t notice while working.
But, as of now, they move on their own…and it greatly concerns me. My whole job, my whole damn life could crumble into nothing if someone finds out! But, I need someone’s help as well, I need a medical professional to help me.
Because I can’t.
June 30, 2022
Midday, sunny
…I need them gone.
The longer they’re in my mouth, the stronger they get; Better shelling, sharper tips, better strength and grabbing abilities, all of it. My mouth can even open wider to accommodate the extra limbs, while my tongue seems…longer somehow.
The molars in my mouth are sharper, tougher, and easily able to crack harder things than they could before.
I’m scared.
Scared of these changes, of this forced evolution. I don’t want this. I don’t dare say anything, for if I do, I won’t get help or sympathy.
Just be another twisted thing they would study.
And I can’t have that, My brain is faltering and stuttering to come up with a way to fix this.