"Okay, no more ... Moneriviridae, otherwise known ... vomit, fecal mater, sweat, saliva or any other ... can do to help him ... his own body ... fight the infection ... If either of you ... extremely tough ... into a coma "
We love making snow angels. Andrei and I. He's a few years younger than I am, but this is the first winter he's been old enough to run around and play with me. He doesn't make snowballs very well; They tend to disintegrate into powder before they reach their target. He's not patient enough to make a snowman, and he gets frightened on the sled, but we make snow angels for hours. He giggles while he kicks his legs and flails his arms, his laughter filling the mountain air around their tiny, isolated home. Mother calls them from the porch, as it's starting to get dark.
"Okay, no more horseplay! Time to come inside!""Okay, no more Mr nice guy!" Even as big as I am nowadays, Dad's always been bigger, and he's always lorded it over the whole family. This is the first time he's ever hit me though. And he hits hard. And repeatedly. Mother cries, but even through the entire beating, I can't tell if she's crying cause of the beating or cause of what I am. I try to shield my face, but that only enrages him further. He knocks my hand away and breaks my left horn with his enormous hands. The pain is excruciating.
"Moneriviridae, otherwise known as an abomination!"College life is incredible. I had no idea how sheltered I'd been my whole life. Parties like these are only the tip of the iceberg, too.
"Moneriviridae, otherwise known as Stigma. I can think of a lot of uses for a man of your size." is how the fashionably dressed ork gentleman introduces himself. Something about the way he's dressed, the way he carries himself, as though he owns the whole world. Something about the confidence, the unapologetic frankness about him draws me to him in a sense. We talk for a few minutes and I'm even more enchanted with his entire persona.
I want to be this man. He looks me deep in the eyes and says,
"Consume me. Flesh, mind, organs, vomit, fecal mater, sweat, saliva or any other substance which may give you sustenance.""And if you get any vomit, fecal mater, sweat, saliva or any other foul thing on your body I will kill you." He punctuates each item on the list with a hefty swing from that cruel right fist of his. Between punches, I look up at him, bleeding from my lip and cheek wondering if I'll ever be big enough to kill him one day. He just keeps on screaming. Mom tries to calm him down, but he screams at her too.
"Dammit, don't you get it?! This is the only thing we can do to help him!"This is one of the more dangerous trails he could ever hit with the snowmobile. At least Sammy is here. He's only known Sammy for a couple weeks since the cool ork with the funny accent moved into the school district.
"C'mon, it's my own body! Yours too!" He says as he guns it uphill and starts the run. It's cold and it's dark and I'm already exhausted, but I follow after him. Even though I'm terrified, I'm more exited to try it out. Maybe fifteen minutes of zigzagging though trees and rocks at high speeds in the pitch black, save the headlights later, we come across a small clearing and slow down for a moment to see the sights. There's a dead man here, smashed up against a rock with his snowmobile. Took the turn too fast, it seems. Probably only been here a week or two. Now, the fear is winning the competition. This isn't fun anymore. I'm going back. Pointing at the wreckage, I call out to Sammy.
"What about his own body, huh?" Sammy looks sad and disappointed in me.
"I'm sorry dude. I can't do this. I'm going home. See ya at school.""...and further tissue damage by the body's immune cells and the chemicals, called cytokines, they release to fight the infection. The result can be impaired nutrient absorption, excessive water and mineral loss through the stools due to..." God! This knowitall just drones on and on. I hate this school anyways. Who the hell even still dresses like that. There's only like 5 other kids, and they're all rich kid human corpers who hate me even though I could kick all their asses. I don't even get why I'm the only little kid in a class full of adults, but it's pretty damn intimidating. I don't know if they notice I'm just a scared little kid yet, but sooner or later they're gonna. Two of the other kids start passing notes back and forth. I know they're about me cause they keep looking at me. Finally teacher sees them and says,
"If either of you have anything you'd like to share, you can read it out loud to the class." Oh God, please no?! Everyone is going to laugh at me when they hear it.
"If either of you ever see eachother again, it will be a cold day in hell." Dad doesn't speak angrily or even with any emotion at all. he just sits in his chair, reading his news in his stupid ARO that looks like an old timey newspaper, sipping his tea and speaks like the cold hearted asshole he is. My heart is breaking. I'm never going to see my best friend ever again. If I weren't certain he'd beat me for it, I'd cry. It's all I want to do.
"You've got to be extremely tough about this, boy. And you'd damn well better."