Letty's Captions: April 2016

A request that turned more into a short story. Enjoy! :)

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“Come on man, you just have to give it a rest, there really isn’t any way we're going to get in.”

I was talking to my friend Bill over lunch at school while we waited for our short moment of peace to be silenced before going back to class. A sports bike show was coming to our small, practically empty town tomorrow and Bill and I for the past month had been struggling to find some way to get into it. There were really only two ways: a ticket, which each cost more than our lives combined, or we by having a bike to enter into the show, which clearly as high-school juniors wasn’t going to happen.

“Look Dan, I know how helpless it seems. I just… I just have some kind of hope.” I shrugged. I’m not sure what he planned on doing between today and tomorrow, but I’ll give him credit for his spirit.

School went by normally and after what seemed like an eternity I was finally on my way to the bus. On my way there I could hear Bill yelling my name of my shoulder. “Dan!! Wait up!!” I sighed and slowed down.

“What do you want, man?”

“Meet me at my house tonight around 10”, said Bill. “I think I figured it out.” With that he ran towards his bus without another word.

My entire bus ride I texted him over and over asking for an answer but each time he responded by telling me to meet him at 10 and everything would be answered. The rest of my afternoon dragged by as I was anxious and excited to find out what he had in mind. Could he have really figured something out?

After what felt like an eternity, 10 PM finally came round and I snuck outside to go to Bill's house next door. He was already waiting in his driveway for me, wearing a hoodie and sweatpants. In his hands I saw an odd shaped vial, almost like one out of our science classrooms, and within it was a clear blue liquid that even in the dark seemed to glow ever so faintly. When he saw me coming a smile appeared on his face as he held up the vial.

“This is it my friend. This is how we get into the race.” I looked at him quizzically, unsure of what he meant. He understood my expression and continued. “You see, I skipped last period like always and took a walk outside around the school. I bumped into a bum hanging out on the sidewalk. I was just gonna keep walking until he said my name. It scared the hell out of me. I turned around and asked him how the hell he knew my name, but he ignored my question and only told me how he knew you and I were trying to get into the bike show and he had the answer. That’s when he gave me this drink and told me that just one sip of it would answer all of our problems.”

When he finished he looked at me excitedly, expecting some kind of happy response. I had none for him. In fact, all I felt was a surge of anger build up. He seriously thought some bottle of what was probably booze from some bum was going to magically make everything work?? How the fuck would it even do that?? I was so mad I couldn’t get a single word out. What I did do, however, was snatch the vial out of his hand and throw it to the ground. The vial smashed into a thousand pieces as the liquid went all over, drops splashing on my bare legs under the gym shorts I wore.

“Dude, what the fuck!?” Bill yelled, until suddenly I saw his eyes go wide in shock. I tried to ask him what his problem was, but oddly enough I couldn’t get any words out. Instead, I looked down to see that what little liquid had splashed on me was now glowing brightly, practically blinding me. We both looked down as the glow was starting to envelop my entire body.

The first thing I felt besides an odd tingle was a sharp pain in my back that forced me down on all fours. I tried to stand myself back up but the only thing I could do was stay on all fours. Looking down at my hands I saw them start moving themselves closer together until they were practically touching. Although I couldn’t see them, I could tell my feet were doing the same. As I observed them coming closer, they actually started morphing together. They appeared to be turning black as they took on a rough, rubbery texture. Where the creases in my fingers were, treads seemed to be appearing as my now morphed hands began to grow. When they reached their full size, they looked like one big tire between my arms. I wanted to run but couldn’t do anything as the changes continued to move through my body.
From what I could still see of my arms, the small arm hairs I had seemed to be receding until my arms were completely bare. They started thinning out drastically and turning grey until they looked like metal rods holding my tire into place. Once again I could tell my legs had done the same.

My arms started to grow in length as my back was reshaping itself, allowing me to be raised higher off the ground. My neck started regressing into itself until it forced my head to look straight forward. I was now completely blind to the changes happening to me, yet that didn’t do a thing to slow them down. Despite the panic and anxiety I felt, my breathing was slowing down until it came to a complete stop. Yet, I was still conscious. My insides felt disgusting as they seemed to be rearranging themselves. I felt more weight in me as my innards were changing from bones, blood and organs to gears, an engine and fuels. An indent was forming in my back where a seat would eventually form.

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Bill continued to watch his friend's transition in awe. He couldn’t believe it, but that bum hadn’t lied. He told Bill that the mysterious vial he gave him would turn whoever drank it into a sports bike, allowing Bill to enter it into the show as a last minute registration. The bum made it clear however that it was important not to drink the entire vial at once, as the only way to turn back would be to pour the rest of it on the bike. That, however, was an impossibility now. The vial was smashed and the change was already occurring. Yet Bill continued to look on in utter disbelief as the changes continued to wash over Dan.
He watched Dan's clothes bulk out and solidify as they formed the outer shell of the bike. They took on a smooth sheen as a red and white paint covered them, giving Dan a sharp look. Rubber formed on the indent in his back, completing the seat. This was unbelievable.
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The transformation had no forseeable conclusion as the changes continued to wash over me. I could tell I was turning into some kind of sports bike and I regretted smashing the vial more than any mistake I had made in my life at this point. I was so afraid there’s be no turning back and I had no way to even ask. I could just stay here completely powerless as the changes continued washing over me.

I felt my ears start sticking out and growing as they turned into side view mirrors. My vision went black and then came to as everything I was looking at was now much brighter and clearer. My eyes had become headlights. The last of the changes washed over me as a white DUCATI logo appeared on my face. I was now a sports bike.

Fear and realization hit me like a brick wall. Oh god, what was I going to do? How was I going to even explain this to anyone?? I wanted to scream to Bill for help but couldn’t. I could only sit still, waiting for the next thing to happen. And what did happen I wasn’t expecting.

Bill came over and rubbed his hand along my surface, admiring me like some kind of toy. He was checking out my engine, my dashboard, it was almost like he was OK with this. He didn’t even say anything to me as he lifted his leg up over me and plopped himself down. I expected to feel pain but my shocks simply gave way slightly, expecting this kind of pressure on me. Bill stuck something into me, a key I'd assume, and turned it.

Immediately everything for me changed. My insides felt like they were coming alive as my engine started and a roaring noise was coming from within. I wanted to scream and yet… I couldn’t. In fact, I was having a hard time even thinking. Words were becoming harder to find and I was fighting to resist the inevitable. And yet, my body fought back against every meager urge I had to stay with it. Before long my thoughts were incomprehensible as the only thing I could focus on were simple commands. My brain seemed to be rewriting itself into some sort of foreign code, imprinting me with everything I needed to know to be a bike. I was blasted with the knowledge on how to go forward, change gears, go left and right, turn my headlights on and off and brake. I just waited for the next command from my driver and I did all the work. Next thing I knew, driver was revving my engine as he put a helmet on. He caressed my surface one more time before he sped me up and we were going down the road.

I was his sports bike and I was ready to do the job.