Too Late

Gela tipped the beaker to his mouth, feeling a deep satisfaction for being part of this monumental moment.

Emptying the glass, the assistant bumped it against the table with a smack of his lips, a smug smile replacing the grim determination.

For a moment, nothing happened.

"How do you feel?" Dania asked quietly.

Gela winced. "Pain! So much pain!" He cried. He held his stomach dramatically and coughed.

Dania rolled her eyes. "It was a serious question."

Receiving an approving nod from Taran, the assistant laughed. "I feel fine. Better than fine, actually. I feel a change in me. I feel stronger, like a power is surging through me. I cannot wait to test it out!"

"See? Everything is fine. You worry too much!" Taran patted the woman on the shoulder. With a greedy glint in his eye, the nobleman rubbed his hands together. "When you say power, what exactly do you mean?"

"There is a fire in the pit of my stomach. I think if I wanted to, I could toss a horse over my shoulder and carry it without a problem," Gela bragged.

He was clearly trying to impress the charismatic man, and possibly Dania also. Taran slapped his knee. "Good man, Gela. Let's try it out! I have horses for my carriage out front. What do you say, Dania? Want to see a horse ride a man for a change?"

The female scientist sighed. She knew the nobleman was likely trying to make a fool of her assistant, but Gela seemed more than willing to let it happen. "If you insist, let us go outside," she sighed. 'Men...'

"You'll be singing a different tune when I lift the carriage over my head with one hand," Gela said confidently. "I feel like I could move a mountain!"

The young man pushed back his sleeve and flexed his bicep. It was almost imperceptibly larger, but Dania could not ignore the difference. In fact, the longer she stared at it, the bigger it seemed. Perhaps the elixir had done something real after all.

"No need to gawk at the man's physical prowess," Taran seemed a bit miffed at the woman's attention on the other man's body.

"Stop it, Taran. Don't you see it?!" Dania help up her hand and pointed to the rippling happening along the assistant's skin.

Gela flexed harder. "Yeah, don't you see it?! I am becoming a man among men. I am a....Oh!"

The assistant grabbed his stomach.

"Ouch!" he cried.

"Not funny," Dania was done playing games. "How are we ever going to get accurate results if you two are making a mockery of..." The scientist stopped as Gela fell to the ground. "What's wrong?!"

"Pain!" Gela rasped. His voice was deeper than before, containing a low growl. I feel like my insides are being ripped to shreds..." Gela gritted his teeth so hard that they threatened to shatter.

The change in progression was sudden. As the purple potion began to move freely through his veins, the changes became more rapid. Looking at the assistant struggling against the process which was trying to take control of his body, Taran picked up the pad and made some notes.

"What are you doing?!" Dania screamed when she saw her comrade's calm demeanor. "Help him!"

"How?" Taran countered. "We do not even know what is happening. We must record things or risk losing important information."

Although Dania was angered by his words, she could not refute him. Unlike Taran, she could not stand by and watch. Gela convulsed on the ground, screaming in protest to the changes in his body.

Dark, gruesome veins began to spread across his skin at a frightening speed, consuming the pallid color of one who is always indoors. Dania knelt down and cradled the man's head as he shook uncontrollably. She would at least not let him swallow his tongue if she could help it.

"Look at me," the female scientist cooed softly. "Stay with me." Should she give him more healing water that was untainted or would that make the problem worse? "What can we do?" Dania asked Taran. He had no answer.

Gela was breathing heavily. The elixir was quickly spreading in his body, turning all affected areas a crimsoned purple. Had the effect reached his heart?

"Help!" Gela begged as he writhed on the floor. "It burns. I cannot stand it much longer." The deadly tug of war continued as the assistant fought for control of his body. Sadly, it was a battle he was quickly losing. Every moment he seemed less and less himself.

White hair began to sprout on his arms and face. Dania was horrified but she tried not to show it. Gela shook violently as the burning and ripping intensified, and not even the comforting touch of the scientist on his cheek was bringing him comfort anymore.

"I don't want to die," the assistant was staring past Dania at the ceiling in hopelessness.

"I'm here. Don't give up yet." The woman stroked his arm, which was still continuing to grow in size.

"I cannot hold on any longer. I am so sorry." Gela's final words were so deep that his voice was barely recognizable.

With a sigh, he closed his eyes and submitted to letting the potion have its way. The poison entered his heart and mind at the same time. Gela knew deep down that he could either let it in or die trying to keep it out. Letting it in was a risk, but he saw no other option. He allowed his mental defenses to drop.

Dania gasped. The clothes covering Gela's body grew tight and began to rip as the man's body grew larger than anyone's should. He screamed over and over until his throat was raw. The pain was beyond anything he had ever felt.

His consciousness began to fade to deal with the pain. The human mouth and nose elongated into a shortened snout as a row of sharp canine teeth formed from his normally congenial smile. Gela's ears moved out slightly from his head and became furry and rounded.

His hands transformed into white paws and claws like deadly knitting needles shot out from where his nails used to be. His arm flew in a wide arc, nearly catching Dania across the face. Only Taran's quick reflexes managed to pull the woman to safety in time.

Gela's head hit the cold stone ground, but he did not seem to notice. The man's mind was flooded with a strange force as power surged through his body. Energy pulsed through him while reforming of his very being continued.

It was painful, but much less unpleasant than when he had been fighting it. Gela could sense all the changes occurring within him but could not put them into words. He unsuccessfully tried to contain his panic while the world around him began to grow distant.

Gela blinked and suddenly his vision changed. A predatory sense overtook him. The surge of power moved across his eyes and ears. Gela could see, hear, and smell more keenly. He had the animalistic urge to hunt and kill the people before him.

"No!" Gela's humanity fought against the sickening notion. He wanted to make life better not take it. "What is happening to me?!"

Taran had his body protectively placed in front of Dania as he looked on the assistant with concern. "A transformation," he answered.

Panting, Gela tried to stand to his feet. His legs flailed like a newborn faun as he crashed back to the ground. "I don't want to transform like this. Make it stop. Please!"

"I cannot," Taran said. His eyes were filled with shock, but Gela spotted a hint of--excitement? in the nobleman's eyes.

A rush of uncontrollable anger overtook the assistant. "Did you know this would happen? Did you know I would turn into this...this beast?!"

A strength surged through Gela's body as he stood to his new height. He towered over the puny humans, his head brushing the tall ceiling.

Taran shook his head, fear flashing across his face. "I did not know this would be the result. How could I? Nothing like this has ever been done before."

The assistant wanted to believe him, but something in him was suspicious. The angry fire in his belly grew, and Gela roared. "You knew! Of course you knew. I am a fool! You have ruined me!"

"I'm so sorry!" Dania said, her eyes filling with tears. "We will fix this."

The assistant did not register her words. Instead, he lifted his arms, which now resembled a snow bear's front legs, to the ceiling and raked his claws against the stone tiles between the support beams. Flakes of stone rained down as the scraping sound caused the humans to cover their ears.

"Stay back," Taran warned. He picked up the fire iron next to the hearth and aimed it toward Gela. "I really don't want to hurt you."

Gela's body pulsed with heat as his eyes were clouded by red. "Too late."