Grizzly Science - Ch. 6

Chapter 6

Halfway home, his doubts began to manifest in his mind, as he tapped against the steering wheel at a stop light.

Did he really do the right thing? Were these nanites supposed to help him? It was one thing to see the nanites being injected into his IV tube, and another thing to know that they were actually *inside* him.

So far, he hadn't witnessed any miraculous changes, but Brent had mentioned it took up to two hours for it to be apparent.
The light changed to green, and he pressed on the gas pedal, roaring his way down the street toward his house. 

It had only been approximately fifteen minutes since he had left his appointment.

Pulling into his driveway with very little conscious thought, Grant stopped the car. He scooped up his cigar case, scanner and his keys, leaving his car then started walking to his front door. He stilled for a moment before making his way up the stairs, viewing them with slight nervousness, remembering the last time he walked up them.

Pushing past the nervousness, he walked up slowly, not wanting to overtax himself too soon. He didn't know for sure whether the nanites would do the job or not.

A nagging thought occurred to him -- who had called for an ambulance? He didn't know many people in his neighborhood beyond exchanging polite greetings.

He shrugged, sinking into a contemplative mood.

He supposed it didn't matter -- whoever it was -- had saved his life. Grant felt that he should be grateful -- and he wasn't quite sure now if he should have just been left there to die.

Would life really have been better if he had died?

What could he really do with his life now?

Shrugging those morose thoughts off like a cloak, he dug his keys out of his pocket. Slipping the key into the dead lock, he unlocked it then pushed the door open.

The lights illuminated his house, and he gritted his teeth in a scowl. He had forgotten to turn them off. He went in, closing the door behind him.

He placed his cigar case on his coffee table, and sighed. He didn't feel much different yet. Gazing at the scanner in his hand, he wished he could make heads or tails out of the display. He shrugged, putting it on the table as well.

Pulling his shoes off with his own feet, he frowned, thinking about the appointment.

Not expecting anyone to show up at his front door today, he peeled his tight jeans off, and felt immeasurably better. He exhaled softly in relief.

At least Brent hadn't seemed to notice that Grant had been half-hard through the entire appointment. Rubbing his dick and balls through the soft cotton material, he sighed as his balls tingled pleasantly, and his dick twitched in response.

Brent - now that was one he'd love to know. And he had his phone number tucked away in his jeans pocket. Ironically, it was only for emergencies relating to the nanotreatment.

His stomach rumbled as hunger made itself known. He grumbled, remembering that hunger was one of the side effects. Grant went into the kitchen, and dug around in the refrigerator for fast and instant foods -- fruits, sandwich making's and other things.

Soon after, he had assembled several apples, a three large sandwiches, and some mashed potatoes that he had reheated.

Carrying the large platter which he put everything on, and a fork for the potatoes, he brought it back to the coffee table, and set it down.

"Hmmm. Something to drink." He returned to the kitchen, and got himself a large glass of water.

It took him at least a half hour to polish off all his food on the platter. He leaned back, as the fork clattered on the empty bowl, feeling full and drowsy.

He softly mumbled to himself, "...ughnn tired... might as well take a nap... nothing's going anywhere."

Grant swung his legs onto the couch as he shifted his bulk onto the couch's cushions, and his head resting on a pillow.

His eyes were half-lidded, as he shifted back and forth, trying to get comfortable. Once he found the perfect position, his eyes closed completely.
Soon a soft, reverberating snore could be heard.

*********************************

Dimly aware that this was the same dream that always happened, he sniffed at the air, and cautiously crept his way back to the lake shore.

The air was laden with dampness, and an autumn wind blew in gusts, sending leafless tree branches swaying.

He stilled his stalking, and crouched as he sighted the lake lapping at the edge of the shore.

Curiosity won over his initial caution, along with thirst. He was always thirsty. The reason behind it never was clear to him.

He padded slowly toward the water, and knelt at the edge. His hands laid on the cool ground by his sides, as his head bent closer to the water.

Scooping a cold handful of water, he slurped it greedily, savoring the sudden splash of cold water down his throat. He continued for several moments, and several more handfuls of cold water.
It was as if his soul had finally found something he needed. His body felt lighter, and more relaxed.
Thumping backwards onto his rump, he gazed around wondering about this place, and how he kept dreaming it.

He dimly felt the awareness that this was a dream grow stronger, and he blinked in pleased surprise.

Gazing at himself wondering what that was about, he ascertained that he was pretty much his human self, but... it seemed as if he had gotten some heightened senses.

Grant frowned, also realizing he was stark naked,but past caring about that. He stood up, and wondered what this place was meant to do. The forest didn't seem as cold to him as he'd have imagined. He raised his arm in front of his face, and blinked as there was thickened fur around his forearm, and upwards. Fur thick enough to serve as a coating for winter. He started walking toward a tree nearby.

He stopped abruptly, his ears and nose picking up a strange, yet familiar scent which led... behind him?

Grant turned around as silent as possible, with his eyes darting toward the pool, then he crouched instinctively as he saw a human figure helping himself to his water. A surge of protectiveness came over him as the human drank, then Grant blinked as he took in the details.

The human suddenly gazed up, and Grant recoiled in surprise as he saw that the person had no human head, but a lion's!

It bared it's teeth in a toothy smile? as Grant stayed where he was. The lion-humanoid shimmered and faded away a moment later.

Grant called out with an outstretched hand. "Wait!" His voice echoed through the landscape with an unsettling tone.

He loped quickly to the still-rippling waters, and fell to his knees. Where was it? Who was he/it?

Grant was confused, but knowing that it was just a dream didn't seem to matter, only that he wanted answers. His mind seemed to be wanting to tell him something.

He wanted to listen. But he didn't know what the message was supposed to be.

He sighed in frustration, then looked at the waters, morosely.

Grant's breath caught as he saw the lion under the surface of the water, gazing up at him. He reached with his fingertips to lightly touch the water's surface, and watched it ripple, then jerked his hand back.

The reflection had mirrored his actions, but with human hands that looked suspiciously similar to his own.

He gasped as the lion's reflection slowly became his own.

There was only his appearance left floating in the water.

Confusing thoughts jumbled over themselves into Grant's head.

What did it mean? What was the connection of the lion to him?

Was it that he and the lion were one person ? But why?

Frowning, he moved his face closer to the water's surface, and stared at his reflection in growing shock.

His eyes had changed to glittering gold with black slits for irises.

An inarticulate shout of fear was strangled in his throat as he scrambled back.

No! That's not me!

His eyes flew open, as he jerked himself to a sitting position. His chest rose and fell in short gasping breaths, as a sheen of cooling sweat clung to his skin.

It took him a moment to get his breathing under control, since his lungs were starting to feel sore, and painful. He kept his breathing shallow and measured, and the burning prickliness in his lungs began to subside.

He sighed quietly. It didn't seem as if they had started working yet, but his logic reminded him that nanites could only work so fast. It might have to take a longer while.

Grant cupped his meaty hands in his lap and gazed down at them, feeling slightly disturbed. He wasn't sure if he wanted to dwell on his dream, but it had felt glorious for a few moments to move around in it.

He had the oddest sense that he had been driven by pure instinct for the first few moments, then became himself. And then... those eyes.

Grant's frown deepened as he tried to make sense of the dream -- the lion, the eyes, and their connection to him.

He murmured in a quiet and uncertain voice. "What's a lion doing in my dream? What does it have to do with me?"

He cupped his face in his hands, and rubbed it vigorously to wake himself up fully. It felt like he had slept all night.

He peered at the clock on the wall, and blinked stupidly. "What? It's midnight?"

His stomach growled savagely, cramping hard. He grunted in sudden pain, and realized he was starving to death. Again.

He grumbled mentally. Must be the binging Brent warned me about...

He hoped it'd go away soon. He couldn't afford to eat all the time.

Grant growled in his throat as he got to his feet, feeling his stomach complain bitterly, walking to the kitchen.

In no time, he gathered up as much food as he could find onto the counter, which included a large pile of vegetables that he could eat without prepping, a package of turkey lunch meat that he had shoved into three sets of bread, then started eating until his stomach stopped whining.

There was nearly no food left on the counter save a couple of oranges. He wasn't full, but he wasn't hungry. He sighed. He was going to use the lunch meat for his own lunch the next day, but he suspected he might have to call in sick in eight hours. He shrugged, peeling the skin off the fruit and started eating the wedges.

The fruit was the first thing he managed to be able to savor and feel the juice going down his throat -- tart and sweet at the same time.

Grant closed his eyes and clutched the counter, and sighed wearily. He didn't really want to go back to bed tonight, but his reserves felt like they were still rather low. 

He pushed away from the counter, frowning at the effort it took, and trudged back toward his couch. 

Hoping his dreams wouldn't come back, he sat down in the middle, then swung his legs on, and his head back into his pillow.

His eyes stared at the ceiling once more, as his hand cupped his crotch and rubbed up under his shirt feeling his fur. Scratching it idly, then letting it move out from under his shirt to lay on his stomach, he closed his eyes.

A few seconds later, his breathing became regular and soft, and snoring could be heard again.
No dreams came that night.

[TBC]

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