The Macabre Metamorphosis [Entry #1]

When the sun rose this morning, so did my stomach.  Bile burned my esophagus as I inhaled the cool air.  I hoped I wasn't getting ill, but as if on cue, my body convulsed in a chest-rattling cough.  I was gasping for breath, cursing the fact that I lived alone for the first time since I moved out.  After what seemed like an hour, the coughing subsided.  The taste of half-digested Chinese food burned more than the biled; a renegade grain of rice forced another fit of coughing.

"I suppose that's what I get for eating sketchy leftovers," I forced a small laugh at the person in the mirror, for the first time noticing the purple-tinted skin beneath my eyes, making me look years older than I really was.  How strange, I thought, running a finger lightly over the skin, almost as if I was checking that it was my own.  I got as much sleep as I usually do...

With a shrug at my reflection, I convinced myself that it was nothing and started freeing the hair that still remained in the over-night sloppy bun.  My stomach turned objectively, trying to twist itself in knots.

"Fine!" I snapped aloud at the pesky organ and stomped into the bathroom like a child throwing a temper tantrum to search the medicine cabinet.  "Here!  Eat this and shut up," I growled angrily in response, popping two chalky antacids in my mouth.

Showers always seem to improve my spirits, I decided, and twisted the faucets to let the water flow.  Steam quickly entered my lungs, soothing and tickling at every inhale.  The heat quickly went to my head, making me feel weak and off balance.  Bracing myself, I eased down to sit on the edge of the shower with my head under the running water.  My breath started coming only in short, panted gasps.

"Oh god no..." I cringed, feeling my eyes start to fill with tears, "Not again..."  I fought the coughing fit off as long as I could.  It felt different this time.  My body ached more, but there was more to it than that.  It wasn't until I opened my eyes that I saw the watered-down blood flowing from my hand down the drain.

I quickly washed my mouth out; without thinking, I raked my tongue clean with my fingers, accidentally scratching my uvula.  My body began to convulse again.  The coughs has progressed into heaves as my stomach decided to empty itself.  I threw up until the acidic bile once more burned my throat -- and what's worse was that some began escaping my nose due to the tilt of my head.

My every muscle ached -- no, my cells ached.  I shook with weakness as my body tried to turn itself inside out.  My vision turned foggy and unfocused before gradually fading as my consciousness began to slip slowly away.

I didn't recall the moment that I regained consciousness , but it never felt like I fully woke up.  It took longer than usual to identify my surroundings.  My vision was still blurry and my balance still off.  I didn't know how long I had been out.  The water was still warm, but it felt as if I had been in a hot tub for too long.  It was a struggle to stand; I knocked the bottles of shampoo and body wash to the shower floor. 

Losing my balance once more, I reached out to grab the first thing I saw -- the faucets. My movements were slow and I failed to grab hold.  I did, however, manage to move them, sending scalding hot water on my back.  I tried to yell out, to cry, but all that came out was a muddled groan of pain.  I slipped, hitting my head, blood running down my face.  An uncoordinated hand slapped over the gash and slid down my face.  Drawing nearer my mouth, my tongue reached out to touch the warm, thick liquid.  Unlike its usual harsh, metallic taste, it was now familiar...Sweet almost...

I was hungry.  Oh so hungry.  All of my thoughts fled from my mind and all I could now think of was the taste of blood.  I bit harshly on the tip of my tongue again and again until I was chewing on the flesh itself.  More.  I was so very hungry and all I wanted was to taste more flesh and blood.

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I wanted to try something a little out of my comfort zone for my first entry to stretch my literary muscles.  I've had zombies on the brain lately (pun totally intended) due to watching Dawn of the Dead recently and Zach's little brother talking about zombies when I sat down to write.  I thought this was interesting because it goes through the change of human to zombie and the change in the cognitive state.  Again, it's not a topic that I usually write, so it is new for me, but I am rather proud of it; especially for just sitting down and writing it in one go.

Feel free to share con-crit and thank you for reading.