Virus Ch. 09-10

They all snoozed lightly, the dread of the next phase subconsciously preventing any deep slumber. Neil sensed it was happening first. In her sleep Alex started gripping his hand. If he had been a normal human she would have broken it. He leaned over and lightly punched Drew awake. Drew looked down at her blearily to see her face contorted in pain. Her eyes flashed open and she gasped in anguish. "Noooo, no, no!" she screeched. She started rocking back and forth, reaching behind her frantically. She didn't know what she was reaching for; she just knew her back felt like it was on fire. She felt a searing pain, like an inferno blazing across her shoulders and it literally took her breath away.

"Oh my God. It's happening! What do I do?" Drew asked frantically.

"I don't know! Let me think" Neil panicked. His mind went blank as he desperately tried to remember how to get through it.

"Neil!" Drew warned. "Tell me what to do!"

Neil thought back to the last transformation. "Shit. There isn't anything we actually can do." Drew glowered at him and looked to be barely holding himself back from punching him. "All we can do is try and distract her. Make her feel pleasure to take away some of the pain," Neil instructed.

Drew couldn't believe that would help and opened his mouth to give a snide remark but Alex had crawled forward on the bed, her body racked with spasms of pain. He sat her on the edge of the bed and turned her face towards his. "Alex... I promise you'll get through this. Once you're through this, there will be no more pain."

She wept openly and cringed away from him, distrusting his words. She had never experienced this level of suffering before. She could feel her bones shatter and reform, ribbons of excruciating torment weaving across her back. Suddenly a sensation like a knife slicing tender flesh flashed alongside her spine and she jerked her chest forward. Drew wanted to stroke her back to comfort her but knew that would only hurt her more. He looked to Neil, desperate for some way to help. Neil knelt in front of her and eased her knees apart. Drew felt a wave of revulsion, disgusted that Neil would take advantage of her when she was crippled with pain. Neil met his friend's glare and with deliberate movements ran two fingers up and down her slit. Drew's fist clenched but then Alex let out a moan. Drew looked down at her. She was still in obvious anguish but she opened her legs more for Neil.

"We need to distract her from the pain," Neil gently reminded him as he continued his feather-like movements along her slit. Drew nodded, still not trusting that it would have an effect. He reached out with his right hand and cupped her breast. He was surprised to feel her lean into his palm. He tentatively pinched the nipple. She was still weeping but she gave him a watery smile to indicate that she did like his touch. He continued fondling her breast, watching her face. Neil was right; their actions were getting a small positive result. He readjusted so he could take her right nipple in his mouth. Her skin was hot, like she had a fever. He started to panic until he heard a pleasurable groan mixed in with her tortured wails. Meanwhile, Neil had parted her outer lips and was exploring her with his fingers. He circled the opening to her sex before dragging his fingers up and across her clit. The bud stood out proudly, ready for attention. He teased her by rubbing his dry thumb across it, causing a slight feeling of friction. He inserted a finger barely inside her , dipping it into the gathering pool of wetness, then used his wet finger to rub her clit over and over and over as he kissed her inner thigh.

Alex felt like she was torn... literally and figuratively. She thought she might pass out from the trauma but just when it would become unbearable she would feel a rush of pleasure from what the guys were doing. Somehow the excruciating pain was making their caresses that much more intense. Again she felt a lash of torment as her body mutated. At that same time Drew was sucking deliciously on her nipple, squeezing her other breast in his hand. She couldn't stop crying hysterically and had started to get the stuttering hiccups that come with continuous tears. Drew gave a kiss to the top of her breast and sat up. He tenderly turned her head toward him and patted her head in comfort. "Shhh... It'll be ok. It'll be ok," he repeated. "You're so much stronger than you know." He slid his hand behind her neck, making sure not to put any pressure on her back and kissed her carefully. His kiss was like pure oxygen. She could almost feel his caring and love wash over her, flowing to her red lips, down her throat, all the way into the little alveoli of the lungs. She still felt stabbing pains in her back and a deep, constant ache. Her body was being violently thrown between agony and euphoria.

Suddenly her body began to shake. Unaware of what she was doing, she flung the guys away from her. Every synapse seemed to twitch and her body continued convulsing. Both Drew and Neil watched her in horror. Neither had seen a transformation like this. Her head snapped back and her eyes flung open. Her chest heaved heavily, like she was struggling to breathe. Drew was desperate to help but felt his muscles locked in place by shock. Alex was shaking so bad that she seemed to rise off the bed... until the men realized that her movement wasn't from shaking. Alex cried out as her left scapula twisted in a way that no human's could. The bone began expanding, trading it's density for volume. She felt it push against her skin and tensed up, expecting the sharp bone to slice through her skin like paper. Remarkably her skin stretched with it, as if it was as pliable as silly putty. A loud WHOMP filled the air only to be followed by a thundering WHOOOSH as her right scapula grew and changed as well. Drew watched her in fascination. Her hair was now glossy and it was so shiny there seemed to be a halo around it. Her porcelain skin glowed, and the browns and greens of her hazel eyes seemed to dance. Steadily higher she rose, her newly acquired wings spreading out behind her, flicking and fluttering to keep her afloat. Almost instantly all her pain was gone. She had been transformed, reborn.

Neil sat back against the dresser where he had been thrown and smiled, relived that the process was complete. "Well, that was a tad more dramatic than it needed to be, but I'd say it went well," he laughed.

Drew and Alex locked eyes, a look of relief and understanding passing between them. He slowly let out the breath he was holding, grateful that the physical transition, hyperactive and traumatic that it was, was over. Now came the adjustment period, the daily living with the virus. Alex would have to learn to navigate the world with her new abilities and all the possibilities they unlocked. She'd learn that all the names his kind had been called over the years - angel/ devil, holy/ heretic, divine/ demon - were just words, mere labels assigned to explain what could not be understood. That underneath all her flashy new skills she was still human. There would be mistakes, fights, misunderstandings, laughs, and (he hoped) great make-up sex. And, as she had feared, there would be inevitable sorrow as she'd watch her family and friends, all those she held dear, pass away one by one. But Drew vowed to guide her through it all, be her teacher and her support. It was his small way of penance for infecting her in the first place.

Neil left to get some water while Alex was testing out her new flying skills, hovering tentatively above Drew. Her wings folded up unexpectedly and she crashed inelegantly on top of him.

"Sorry! I'm trying to get used to this," she apologized with a smile. She twisted her head to stare at her new appendages and started experimenting with the contraction and expansion of her wings, laughing exclaiming "This is so weird!"

"No problem. Take your time," he murmured, watching her intently. There was still the lingering fear in the back of his mind that she'd change emotionally. He'd seen it many, many times. One's personality altered just as radically as their physical modifications. She could go the way of the fallen, those that succumb to the lure of power, and ultimately destruction and their undoing. Or she might suddenly become pious, personifying the myths and legends that surround them.

She turned back toward him and met his gaze. Her eyes twinkled as she confided with a grin "Gotta say, sex is going to be a lot more interesting from now on with these."

He barked out a laugh and wrapped his arms around her to pull her into a hug, which she leaned into. Yeah, despite her cosmetic improvements - glossier hair, brighter skin, ability to soar among the clouds, etc. - she was still Alex. His beautiful, funny, perfectly imperfect Alex, the woman he had started falling in love with. And he suspected she'd stay that way. Of course, being nearly immortal means living a long damn time and there was always a chance they would tire of each other. However, he knew lots of couples who stayed together throughout their long lifetimes, despite the improbable odds. He hoped that somehow he and Alex would also become one of those miraculous couples destined to be together. But there was plenty of time to worry about that later. Alex smiled beatifically at him and he leaned forward to catch her mouth in a kiss which she tenderly returned. Both of them were understandably drained but also nervously excited for the future, that endless expanse of time stretching ahead for them and all the promise it held.

The End

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Author's Note: Thank you to all that have commented, favorited and/or voted highly. I appreciate it and hope you'll continue to enjoy my work when I (eventually) post more on Lit! I really hope you enjoyed the story. Were you able to guess what Drew and Neil were? I attempted to weave in some subtle clues. (Honestly probably too subtle.) And, yes, there were a few intentional misdirects as well. Please leave comments and constructive feedback. Again, this is the first story I posted here, so please be kind.