Chapter One

Getting his bearings and learning his surroundings

- Chapter One -  

What had happened? He couldn’t explain it. He shook his head and took a longer, harder look in the mirror. Though he was positive this couldn’t be him, it moved exactly as he did. He didn’t want to admit it but as he looked down he noticed two large mounds blocking his view to see what made him male was still there. Once he found a way to move those from his view, he noticed the lack of his male equipment.  
He was confused and frustrated about the whole ordeal, but he knew that he would never have the answers he was after until he sought out, and confronted the old man who had done this to him.  
He had figured out how to stand and could manage basic movements though it all felt differently. He would need a new name as well because no one would believe that this gorgeous woman was ever a teenage boy who was on the sports teams of his schools. There was only one name that continued to plague his mind and that one belonged to his mother, Alexis. He nodded and decided to go by that until he could think of something better.  
He would also have to start using the correct pronouns in reference to himself... herself. It was going to be rough but the most important thing right now, was to find clothes to hide his new body. Granted he was going to need clothes anyway because he was quite the modest boy.  
He began to hunt around the facility, finding a dusty, dirty, torn up lab coat and he pulled it on over his body. Luckily, it was a couple sizes too big, so it covered his new body quite nicely. He grabbed some rope he found on the floor and tied it closed around his body and made his way from the building.  
Once he made his way out of the building he noticed that the roads were covered with dirt and grime and he suddenly was very upset that he couldn't find something to put on his feet to cover them. He looked up towards the sky but only saw a black cloud that the buildings went up past about a half mile up.  
This was unexpected and frustrating to him as when he had arrived at the facility, seven days ago, it hadn't been like this at all. At least, he thought it had been a week. He wasn't sure how long he had been out each time he had fallen asleep. What had been in those syringes? What had he been injected with that would cause the symptoms he had had while taking them and then have him wind up like this?  
These were all questions he would have to ask the scientist when he found him, if he was still alive, that is. He looked like he had been about to die for that last syringe so it wouldn't have been a stretch to think he died. But Alexis couldn't think that way right now. He had to think positively and believe that there was a way out of this and that the scientist would know of that way.  
As Alexis tried to get his bearings, he was approached by three tough looking guys. They had well defined abs and leg and arm muscles but they were dressed like they were homeless and had no money to do anything. Their clothes were torn and seemed to be too small. Or perhaps the clothes were fine and the boys were too big. They each had purple veins in random spots on their bodies and their iris were between blue and green while the rest of the eye was red. Their hair colors were blond, brown and red, but they all had the same style, being messy as though never combed before in the boys' lives. They looked sick but at the same time more defined then the average male from where Alexis had been originally.  
The boys had these menacing grins on their faces as they slowly approached Alexis in his new body. He feared the worst as he had heard the stories and had almost been an instigator into those stories due to peer pressure and frustration. He hated even remembering that part in his life and he had secretly gotten the police to intervene before anything had happened.  
These memories were irrelevant, though as Alexis backed up a couple steps into the building he had just escaped from. The blonde laughed as he saw the woman back into the building as though out of fear.  
"Well, well, well. Look what we have here. Not everyday we find a chick down here in the slums with the rest of us. Especially one that's not infected," The grins became more and more lecherous as Alexis gained a glare on his face. He didn't know what he was going to do but he knew he couldn't take this lying down. Excuse the pun.  
The red haired boy spoke next, "Perhaps we should be the ones to infect her," He grinned and the brown haired boy kept silent but probably had the most deviant look yet.  
Alexis growled and spoke up next, "Listen, if you know what's good for you, you'll back away and leave me alone!" He yelled at them and the two laughed hard and shook their heads as their leader spoke again, "Listen, b***h. You're in our territory now and we don't have to listen to s**t,"  
"I have a phone and I can call the police, they'll be here within five minutes!" Alexis was digging deep for some way to get these men to back off but it seem to have no effect as they started laughing again.  
"What the f**k's a phone?" He shook his head, "You really think the police still patrol down here? You're a f****n' idiot. And you ain't got nothing on you but that damn robe. It's like you wanna be fucked!"  
Alexis winced at his wording and started to panic when he heard another voice speaking softly to his mind, "Just relax, breath and let your body move. You'll be fine, I promise," The voice was soothing, sweet and protective but strong at the same time and very very feminine. Alexis closed his eyes, took a deep breath and the moment he opened he eyes, it was like he was calculating every move that they and he would make.  
It all seemed to happen within an instant and as his eyes closed and reopened, he saw the three boys on the ground, blood surrounding them on the slimey road that was the ground. The necks on two of them had been snapped and turned almost completely around.  
Alexis gasped and stumbled back, tripping over one of them and falling onto his back as he started to tear up, trying to hold it back as much as possible as he got to his feet and started running as fast as his new legs would carry him. He didn't know where he was running to and he didn't care as long as he got away from the violence that he knew he had committed.  
He didn't even see where he had been running to when he finally stopped and panted, leaning on the wall of an old broken building. It took him a minute to figure out that he was leaning on his old home. In his attempt to escape what his body had done to protect him, his new feet had led him to his home. However, it no longer looked as it had when he had left it a week ago.  
Alexis was already starting to cry as he moved into the building. When he walked into the house, he noticed first that have the stairs were missing and floorboards had been torn out of ground. He sighed and shook his head as he moved into the kitchen first since he was already on the first floor.  
The kitchen was as destroyed as the rest of the house but a smell made him quickly cover his nose in disgust. He walked through the kitchen and opened up the fridge to see the same that had been left in it the day Alexis had left for school. He frowned and shook his head, moving from the kitchen and to the broken stairs. He was going to get up there if only to get some clothes.  
He had to climb using the wall and what was left of the stairs, but his new body seemed up to the task. In fact, it felt easier to do it now then when he had his old body. He sighed when he got to the top. Not because he was winded or because he was tired but because he knew that exploring the rest of his decaying home would take it's toll on him.  
He made his way to his bedroom and opened the door and besides the dust and broken building parts in his room, it was left just as it had been when he had left for school that day. He sighed and shook his head wishing he had never left the house as he moved into his room and looked around. He found a pair of blue boxers that looked more grayish at this point but, then again, everything looked grayish in this mess.  
He sighed and grabbed what he thought was blue jeans and a white tank top with a black jacket. He dropped the lab coat and pulled on the boxers, sighing softly as he realized they fit him still, though they seemed a bit baggy. He shook his head and sighed pulling on the pants next only to find out that they were too big and the only reason they stayed up was because of his new figure. That was probably the reason the boxers were staying up as well.  
He sighed once more and gave up for the moment as he decided he would need a belt. He pulled on the shirt and it being baggy wasn't an issue especially since it hid just how large he was in the chest now. Maybe in hiding his new chest, less people would notice that he was now a she. He sighed again and figured he would need to cut his hair and didn't think even that would do it.  
He pulled on the socks and then looked for his shoes. He found a dusty pair of tennis shoes and slipped them on. All were too big except the socks. He moved over to his mother's room and stopped at the closed door. He frowned as he thought about it. Did he want to enter this room? He had avoided his sister's room for the same reason he was avoiding his mother's.  
In realizing that he needed a belt for the pants he wore, he closed his eyes, took a deep breath and pushed the door open, but instead of being pushed open, it fell to the ground with a loud clatter and dust sprang into the air, making him cough and cover his eyes.  
When the dust cleared and he had his bearings again, his worst fears were realized. He looked to his mother's bed only to find her laying there, practically a skeleton. The worst part was that she still had skin on her and was wearing the last thing that he had helped get her in before he had gone to bed the day before school.  
He couldn't help himself as he felt the cold sting of tears roll down his cheeks. He fell to his knees and laid his head on his mother's bed, clutching the blanket as he cried hard, letting out a pained cry.  
A few minutes passed as he just cried on his mother's bed, shaking and clinging to her blanket. “I'm sorry I wasn't there. I'm sorry I couldn't help. I'm sorry that everything got screwed up because I wanted an easy way out. Please, please forgive me!” He cried harder and harder on her bed when he heard the same female voice in his head.  
“She never blamed you in the first place,” The voice said matter of fact like.  
He glared and looked around for that damn voice, “First you kill those guys and now you're talking about my mom? The hell do you know! Butt the f**k out!”  
“Listen, she told you to go to school. She told you not to worry about her. She just wanted you and your sister to have the best life possible and you can have that. If you really are upset about this, take it out on the person who really deserves it,” She said trying to get through to him.  
His sad anguished face turned into one of rage as he whispered whom he felt he could blame, “The scientist,” He growled.  
He stood up, now determined, and sought what he came in here for, a belt. He found one and pulled it on, his pants now in place and not moving as he nodded moved to his mother whom he scooped up as best he could. Luckily, the body wasn't so decayed that he couldn't carry her. He jumped down the broken staircase with relative ease. He took her outside and laid her down on the ground as he began digging a hole in the garden.  
It took many hours, but with the fog over head, it was hard to tell what time of day it was. He sighed and shook his head as she gently lowered his mother into the deep hole and began to bury her.  
He spoke no words as he dropped the dirt over her body. His eyes were filled with determination and anger at what had happened. He didn't truly understand why the world had changed so much in just a few days, but he knew he would find the answers he needed if he found that crazy scientist.  
He finished burying his mother, laid a few flowers over the pile that was her grave and laid the shovel on top of that. He then stood and went back into the house to find any sign of his sister. He needed some good news and learning that his sister was alright, but maybe in foster care would be just the pick me up, he needed.  
Alexis took a deep breath as he reached for his sister's door knob. He didn't want to enter her room and find another dead body, but he felt that entering her room and finding news that she was fine was worth the risk.  
Once he opened the door, he was barraged by pictures of his male self and countless strings connecting one to another with dates and details of where he was mentioned and when he was mentioned and where it led to. However, all the lines ended the same, a picture of an area and a giant, red 'X' marked over it to indicate it had led to a dead end.  
His sister's room was in the best condition of the whole house, but it was still falling apart. Alexis searched the room with any hint of where his sister could have gone to and where she might be now, but all that he could find were where he might have been.  
It was enough to know that his sister had survived for so long but his distraught only grew as he followed the time line that should have been only a week long. He read along the time line as it moved from the year he remembered to a year ahead, then a second year, a third and fourth. He was in tears when he reached the end of the time line and found out he had been out for at least eighteen years.  
Alexis dropped to his knees, crying and punching at the ground over and over until the wood splintered and caused his hand bleed. He ignored the pain and just continued crying, though he had stopped hitting the ground. He was shaking badly and it felt as though every time he tried to get an answer, he only got more questions. He wanted to seek his sister out and ask her what had happened after he had left, but if the time line were to be believed, it had been over eighteen years and she would have grown up and had a life. He couldn't take that away from her now. Especially in his current state. She wouldn't even know who he was and Alexis might not even recognize her when he saw her.  
He sighed and grew more frustrated the longer he thought about it. However, right now, he needed to find that scientist and reverse what had been done. He didn't expect to get the time he had lost, but he did expect to find out what happened to his original body and find out if he could get it back, or at least a body of his original sex.  
However, he had no leads. He had no way to find him and no idea where to go next. He sighed and closed his eyes and began to think calmly, letting the tears dry on his face as he planned his next move.  
“Think. What could help you find your next destination?”  
“You again?” Alexis thought to the angelic voice.  
“Yes, me again. You're stuck with me, get used to it. Now, think. There are things all around you that could push you in the right direction,” Alexis blinked and looked around himself and he smacked himself in the forehead for forgetting about the time line so quickly.  
He stood up and looked for the beginning. It had a picture of the school and had 'Science Fair' written on the top. He smiled and traced the single line that was attached to it until it led to the next picture which was of the same alleyway that he took to get to the building with the scientist.  
He nodded and followed the string which had a note on it that said 'Rented The Building' and found the picture that connected to it. It was of a sign that said 'CamiTech' and above it was written 'Investigate?' but next to that was an 'X' and under the 'X' it was written 'Dead End'. However, Alexis thought otherwise and he was going to follow up on his sister's lead. He had to find the scientist and if he was employed by CamiTech, then he was finally getting somewhere. 
Having gotten his new clothes and gotten a destination for where he needed to go next, he parted from his sister's room. He moved out of his house and gave one parting glance back to his mother's grave. He whispered a prayer to her and moved back towards the building he had woken in. 
As he reached the building once again, he would notice that the three males he had killed were now skeletons that were slowly dissolving and their bones had been changed to a pale green that seemed to glow in the light. He frowned and shook his head as he walked into the building, reminding himself to get above the smog that he felt positive was causing these horrible effects. Though it made him curious as to why it hadn't affected his mother and he hoped that his sister wasn't anything like those boys. 
He sighed as he noticed the decaying interior of the building he had recently left. The sliding doors had broken off or were permanently closed and there was rust and mold on everything. There were names above each doorway but the plaques had rusted to the point where they couldn't be read. Luckily, Alexis knew exactly where his room had been. 
The door had been broken off his room and he moved into the broken down room. The chair was destroyed and he found the bale of hay he had woken up on. He sighed and moved towards the broken mirror where he had discovered he had the form of a woman now. He checked the wall and found a panel that seemed ready to fall off and a tray inside it. He pried the panel off and pulled the tray out. 
What he saw shocked him as he noticed the seven empty syringes and labels underneath them. In order the labels read arms, torso, legs, head, brain, heart and soul. But above the syringes was a single label that looked like it was a name. He read the name and committed it to memory: Alyssa Valcove. 
He nodded and repeated the name in his head until he knew he would remember it before leaving the room and searching for any hints as to where the company might be now. He slowly passed the rooms until he found another room with a door broken off of it. Alexis frowned when he saw a similar setup to his own room but there was a body that was decaying in this room. He didn't want to go near the body at all due to having seen so much death already, he didn't think he could take anymore. 
However, he made his way over to the panel which opened and the tray slid out show the first three syringes were empty and the other four were missing completely. Alexis' eyes couldn't have got any wider as he made the connection that most others, if not all, were receiving the same treatment he had gotten but only he had come out alive from what he could see and after so long being in a coma, they had assumed that he was a failure as well. 
He didn't like these thoughts at all but he had nothing else to think of the situation. Alexis took a deep breath and left the room to search for what he had come here for, an address to where CamiTech was hiding. 
He made his way down the hallway, searching for an office or something and every room he passed had at least one dead body decaying in the corner. At least the rooms where the doors were open or broken off. He ignored the thoughts that he got from seeing them and got angrier and angrier. 
He made it to a stairwell and began climbing, thinking to get as high as possible. The office was probably on the top floor anyway. Alexis kept moving higher and higher but he wasn't getting winded and he didn't know why. He chalked it up to his new body and he was going to continue exploit until he got his old body back. 
He reached the fifty third floor and on the stairwell he noticed a door next to the door that led onto the actual floor. He frowned and opened the door only to be hit by a gust of wind. He coughed slightly, not used to the wind anymore as he shook his head and stepped out onto what seemed to be a drive way. He frowned and walked out further until he was about to fall off the road and into the fog below. It was then that he knew that he truly was fifty-three stories up. 
Alexis sighed and shook his head before going back inside and going up the stairs once again. This time, he wasn't going to be distracted until he got to the top. He was going to make sure he got what he needed. 
He made it to the two-hundred and fiftieth floor and went inside. It looked like a normal office with cubicles and everything, which was weird due to the state of the outside of the building and the look of the bottom floor. He shook his head and looked around as he tried to find where the main office once again. 
He found a locked door and sighed softly as the windows into the room were covered by blinds. Alexis figured he had found the room he was trying to find. He moved over to a nearby desk and grabbed a rectangular metal object and moved back over to the door and hit the handle until it broke off. He pushed the door open and walked inside. 
He saw a desk in the back of the office and moved to it, pulling open drawers and finding nothing inside them, but as he sat down, what looked to be a keyboard appeared in front of him on the desk but it was see through like the keyboards he saw in futuristic movies he and his old friends had sneaked into. 
He frowned and placed his hands on the keyboard and prepared to type when a screen appeared in front of the keyboard. Alexis nodded and began typing in the words CamiTech. Once he hit enter, the address, as well as the names of countless people showed up on the screen and he made a mental note of the address he didn't recognize. 
Once Alexis had the address, he stood to leave before noticing the names on the list. He frowned slightly and sighed as he typed in the name Alyssa Valcove. When he hit enter, he saw a picture of his new face and learned that Alyssa was in her early twenties and had previously been an assassin. But what caught Alexis' eyes was the big 'approved' stamp on the file. 
He thought about this and typed in his own name but got nothing so instead he put in his mother's name, Alexis Caldovah and he learned that his mother had a file in CamiTech. He frowned as he looked through it, finding the information in it disturbing. He learned that CamiTech had injected his mother with the virus that stumped the doctors and finally killed his mother. He winced and ground his teeth together in anger as the file also said that Mrs. Caldovah was not a viable candidate as she was susceptible to illness but her children were prime candidates. 
He now knew why he was brought in by that damn scientist and he now knew that his mother's death hadn't been some random act but it was all orchestrated by the organization he now chased. 
He was ready to yell in anger and frustration and now he worried if CamiTech had targeted his sister next. They had taken down his mother and himself and he was worried that they wanted to test his sister the same way that had killed so many and put Alexis into a body that was not his own. 
But as his sister was on his mind, he heard the pounding of foot steps and then he saw a woman enter the room in a police uniform except it seemed to be shining in the normal blue and red as she aimed what looked like a gun at him. But what truly startled Alexis was when the woman yelled out “Freeze!” 
All Alexis could do was widen his eyes and stare in shock as he said the only word that he could in that one moment, “Jaquie?!” And from that one word, the police officer froze up and lowered her gun as she teared up and responded with a name of her own, “Joshua?!” 
Alexis and Jaquie stared at each other before she frowned and raised the gun at him once again and mouthed the words, 'I'm sorry,' and started running towards him. 
Everything began to move in slow motion for Alexis as Jaquie yelled out “Don't move!” yet again and Alexis gasped and her mind entered that calculating phase once again and his mind looked around for the best possible solution. He raced towards the window and kicked the window, causing it to shatter as he then jumped from the window and began to plummet back towards the fog that was so far below him.