"Let's raise this," the voice continued. "You, come here get this risen."
Just like that, a sheet of sorts was raised, letting in so much light I hadn't seen in what felt like forever. I felt blind. I reached around, trying my best to adjust my eyes. Reaching forward, I felt the metal bars and grabbed hold.
"Give her a moment. How many months has it been?"
Months? I wondered to myself. It felt like a few days. But then again, I kept finding myself knocked out. What was going on?
As my eyes adjusted, I started to see, blurry at least to begin. I peered to see metal bars in front of me, and the bright light coming at me. I could barely make out who was on the other side, clouded in light like some holy image, in the shape of what appeared to be a man. The frame of him made it look like he must've been wearing some sort of a coat - a lab coat, perhaps?
Ouch, I held my breathe as I felt something injected into me.
"Well done, men. Give us a moment," the man said, footsteps suggesting people were walking away. I shook my head, things becoming a bit... Clearer.
I was in a cage, or so it seemed. The man was walking closer. All of this was a lot to process at once, I wasn't sure how to react. Had I gotten lost? Did I put myself here? Where am I?
Just as I began to question and anxiety ensued, the man came close enough for me to see - it was him.
"Ono, Ono, Ono..." He began, pointing his finger. He had a smirk spread across his face. "Now, how are we feeling today?"
I shook my head, still confused. But I was starting to feel more in my body. But something was different from before. My long hair didn't fall and shake from side to side like it normally did. Rather, it felt like I had hair but it wasn't moving. Did he, did I, was my hair cut?
"You seem confused. Here, let me help you." He dragged a large mirror that rolled to his side. He placed it in front of me, but the glare of the light threw me.
"Look forward Ono."
On cue, as commanded, I looked forward. What the hell was I looking at? In front of me, in this mirror, was a beast. Covered head to toe in what looked like fur or thick hair. All that I recognized of myself were my blue eyes. The rest of me was just... hair. Short, tufted hair. My stomach had gotten fat as well. I wanted to scream but I was paralyzed. This had to be a joke, a hallucination, a dream.
"Hypertrichosis. It worked, just like your research said. But we decided to take it a step further, so long as you were a willing participant," He explained, motioning toward the bucket, now empty, that I had scarfed those pellets from. "We've been injecting you with a DNA serum every day - that of a monkey. Well, an ape to be exact. And, in that food and water, we've had a manufactured virus to control your hair growth cells to give you Hypertrichosis."
This had to be a joke. I tried standing up, to jump forward, to release myself, but I found myself in an awkward, crouched position. I moved my hand to grab the bar, only to notice it was leathery, thick... Not, not normal. I wanted to cry when --
The sound of a peel. Something in me, not me, some inner part of me instinctively was intently focused on this. It was like a trigger. The peel continued, focusing my attention.
"Oh, do you want this?" The man said in a cruel, mocking way. But I did. I wanted it. It's all I wanted. He came closer, and immediately I saw it, what I craved: A slightly peeled banana.
"Get it, Ono" the man said, reaching it toward me. But my arm couldn't reach. My instinct took over, and I pushed my leg out. My foot, or what once was a foot, moved through the bars. It grasped the banana with ease, like another hand. As I pulled my leg back with it, the man pet my leg. As I moved my leg back toward me on the other side of the bars, I caught sight of this in the mirror. He was petting me. My naked, fur covered body.
