Unstable Mutation by Sean Capelle
	"It's not supposed to be like this," Brian said. His stomach bulged further out, testing the elasticity of his sweatpants. He looked over his body, which had doubled in size since the morning. The serum, he thought. There must have been a mistake. He squeezed through his apartment door and waddled down the hall to the elevator. With each passing moment, his body gurgled and warbled like a water balloon ready to explode. He could feel his skin expand, pushing against the once loose gym clothes. He took the bus to MetaGen instead of driving. He would have driven if he could actually fit in his car. He noticed that the bus riders all sat as far from him as possible. Not that he could blame them- his body continued to make squishy noises and grow. By the time he reached his laboratory, the snow boots he wore cramped his feet, his rounded belly protruded from his sweatshirt, and the cuffs of his sleeves traveled up his forearms. He had to avoid the awkward stares of his coworkers as he slammed the lab's door shut behind him. "What went wrong?" he said. He stood at his desk and flipped through his journal. "What's happening to me?" A tiny, slushy pop disturbed the silence of the room. Brian looked up to the glass cage on his workbench. The cage walls were splattered with blood. His jaw dropped and he rushed over to it as fast as his fattened legs could carry him. "Whiskers!" His experimental rat was nowhere to be seen. He remembered first injecting Whiskers with the serum. The results were phenomenal. Whiskers could hold ten times his weight without a sweat. In addition, all of his life signs were stable. The possibilities for the serum's use overwhelmed Brian. He envisioned disabled people finding new strength, athletic competition being taken to the next level, and countless other ways. The only trouble was all of the red tape he would have to go through. He wondered if the serum would ever thrive if there weren't human results to verify its safety. Confident, Brian injected himself with the serum. He couldn't describe the exhilaration he felt when he lifted his own car above his head. The emotional affects were amazing, too. It wasn't until the other night that his strength waned. At first he thought the serum had lost its potency, but when he woke up, he discovered that his body was taking to it differently. He was caught in some kind of unstable mutation, and seeing Whisker's innards graffiti the cage didn't help. His stomach gurgled again, and he expanded further. The stool next to the workbench scooted away as his body pushed it. He could hear the tested seams of his clothes giving up. His skin ached, and he wondered how much longer before it decided to give up too. Brian couldn't see past his bulbous stomach. Fear preyed on his mind. "It's not supposed to be like this," he said.
	Copyright © 2006 Sean Capelle