I found myself standing in the middle of the forest. Everything was dark, foggy and unusually quiet. Despite all that, I could see my surroundings with clarity thanks to the bright blue moon shining above me. Its light gave a mystical look to the woods.

A dream?

It sure looked like it. The place definitely seemed cold enough to make me shiver, yet I felt nothing. I also had no memory of leaving my room. Determined to find the answer, or at least someone else, I walked through the woods, searching for any sign of civilization.

I had barely taken a dozen steps when I heard whispering. It didn’t sound like the girl from my nightmare. The voice belonged to an adult, although still female. I turned around, and I was met with two silhouettes. A man and a woman peeked at me from the shrubbery. The blue mist made them hard to see, but I could still make out their silver-blond hair.

I really need to stop reading horror stories before bedtime...

They kept whispering, though I could not discern any words of their conversation.

“Hello?” I called. Both of them hid when I did so, and the dream ended

shortly after that.

Waking up in my bed, I saw the first rays of the rising sun coming through the window. I sat up and stretched, giving out a loud yawn.

“Nora, you’re awake!”

The sudden voice made me yelp, and I scanned the room in search of the source without success.

Am I still dreaming?

“Down here, you dummy!”

My sight dropped and focused on the little person waving her arms at me from the nightstand. She was wearing a set of pink pyjamas that I was sure belonged to some rather unfortunate doll at some point. The stolen clothing had been cut and modified to fit a fairy’s wings.

“What are you doing in my room, Lily?”

Her wings made a loud humming noise as she flew closer to me. “This is my room too, see?” She pointed to a small set of pink plastic furniture on top of the nightstand. It looked rather cheap, but at least the pillows and blankets were real.

I also noticed Lily’s back was completely exposed because of the opening in her clothes. It didn’t look that comfortable, even with the summer heat. It made me wonder if she could feel anything with those scales on her back. She certainly didn’t seem to mind it.

The gown I was wearing closed at the back, so it was perfect to accommodate my own wings. I hoped all my future clothes had a similar feature. Exposing so much skin wasn’t for me, even if it was only the back.

“Well, only until they finish building mine,” she continued. “Anna said it was easier to have me here while I waited. You sure sleep a lot, huh.”

“It’s because of the virus. If I-”

She giggled, interrupting me. “I know, I know. I’m just teasing you.”

I sighed. “How long was it this time?”

“Almost six days.”

Not as bad as I thought then. The virus is very inconsistent with this.

I hopped out of bed and walked into the bathroom to see myself in the mirror, only to go back and drag a chair to get on so I could see the reflection better. I missed being strong enough to carry it, or tall enough to not need it to begin with.

The first thing I noticed was the presence of blue patches in some parts of my body. It wasn’t the same colour as my hair, but a much paler version of it.

Anna didn’t mention this.

On my face, the tinted skin circled around my eyes like some heavy eyeshadow. Lines then extended from both corners of each eye and narrowed into a point. The inner ones were short and barely reached the bridge of my nose. The longer external ones ran down in a small arc along my temples before stopping at the same height my cheekbones began. It reminded me of some sort of ancient war paint or tattoo.

The entire back of my wings was also fully painted and, from what Lily told me, the colour continued on my back and went down in a line until it reached my tail, which was also completely blue. She also mentioned asking Anna if I was sick because of it, and the answer to that was no different from the last time. Nothing more than random mutations generated from the clash between human and bat DNA.

For the front of the wings, only the fingers were painted while the membranes retained my original skin tone. My nails also turned dark blue like my hair. They could be called claws now; Sharp and tough. Finally, my horns were about three centimetres long, so they were visible at last.

Lily hovered next to me as I continued to examine myself in the mirror. “So, I was wondering...”

I splashed my face with some water, waiting for her to continue. “Yes?” I finally asked, noticing she paused intentionally.

“So, what’s your take on all this? I mean, I’m still getting used to my new size, and there are many things I can’t do by myself. Everything looks so dangerous and scary to me now. I don’t know what I’d do if I was alone or couldn’t fly.”

I dried myself with a towel and looked at my wings again. I smiled in anticipation. “Yeah, I can’t wait for my turn to fly.”

Lily frowned at me and fidgeted a little. She clearly wanted to say something else, and I knew what it was. I was simply trying to avoid it. Realising I needed to confront it sooner or later, I gave in. “You want to know if I’m fine with how I look, right?”

She nodded shyly.

I looked into the mirror again and saw a juvenile demoness staring back at me. There really was no other name for the creature I had become. Lily’s mother only helped confirm that very fact. Save for a couple of minor differences, I looked like how they were depicted in any source. My fingers traced along the markings on my face.

“To be honest, I was quite open to it at first, even when I knew how much I resembled an actual demon. I kept thinking on the bright side of things. Being able to fly, use magic, I may even have a longer lifespan, who knows?

“What happened that day showed me that I had been disregarding the negatives too much. Looking at the mirror now, I can see why you and your parents reacted like that when you first saw me. Being so young and small helps with my appearance, but I know it’s still unnerving.”

Lily got closer, trying to comfort me. “Nora, I’m sorry. I-”

I waved my hand to stop her. “You don’t have to apologise, Lily. You did nothing wrong. Besides, it’s the truth. Even I reacted like that when I first saw myself, you know? These yellow eyes are intimidating. Whenever I look at them, it’s as if they stared right into my soul. I can’t seem to get used to them.

“My appearance is bad enough already, but it’s the way I reacted back then that truly scares me. I went feral; I couldn’t control myself. What if it happens again? Would I hurt someone I care for?”

Her tiny hand caressed my cheek. “You protected me, didn’t you? I don’t think you should worry about it too much.”

I gave myself one more look and sighed. “I don’t know. I hope you’re right. Still, my presence just made things worse. Maybe they would have stopped and listened if I wasn’t there looking like… this.”

Lily paused, then shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. They’ve always been like that.”

I narrowed my eyes at her comment. “What do you mean?”

“They are my parents, and I… Well, I love them. Even after seeing what they did, there’s this part of me that refuses to believe they meant it. I can’t help it, even though, deep down, I know they never really cared for me.”

She looked down and pressed her lips. “I’m not sure how to say this... I guess it felt more like they pretended to care? They showered me with gifts, sure, but they never gave me one in person. It was always through one of the attendants. It wasn’t that difficult to notice they only ever showed affection when someone watched us, especially when Grandpa was present. They never hurt me or mistreated me, rather, they pretty much ignored me whenever we were alone. That, itself, was already rare since they spent most of the time outside. Sometimes they would drink too much and not come back until the next morning.”

“They left you home alone?” I asked with a frown. “Even when you were a child?” According to the law, children couldn’t be left unsupervised until they turned eleven years old.

Shaking her head once more, she corrected my assumption. “No, I had Grandpa. At least until he passed away. Ashley also took care of me since I was very small. She is… was my babysitter. The workers at home rarely talked to me, and the maids were only around in case I needed something, so she was the only one who played with me. My parents stopped hiring her two years ago. They said it was because they considered it a waste of money when I was already old enough to take care of myself.”

“Do you miss her?”

“Yes... I wished Ashley stayed with me like before, but I knew she needed to work. She still visited me most weekends, so it was enough for me. She probably thinks I’m dead now…”

I gently stroked her head with my finger as she stood near the sink. Unlike the day we met, she didn’t flinch. We spent a few minutes in silence until she calmed down. I wanted to do something for her, and the one thing that came to my mind was helping her meet with Ashley again.

Easier said than done; I didn’t know anything about her other than her name. Asking Lily after she had just recovered was also a bad idea, and even if I got the information, there was a chance Ashley wouldn’t be allowed in. I needed to consult Anna first.

Unable to continue with my idea, I changed the topic and tried catching up with what I missed the last six days.

“Hey, Lily.”

“Hm?”

“Do you know anything about all the people they brought the other day?”

“Yeah, Anna let me keep her company all this time, so I saw them every day. Well, the ones that stayed. Out of the fifteen, only three were infected, and two already left yesterday because they didn’t really change. The other one is turning into a werewolf.”

“Like the ones from legends?”

“I think? He hasn’t changed that much to be honest, but Anna said he will look closer to a wolf standing on two legs than a person.”

I felt a pang in my chest at the thought. If some animal carriers were capable of such changes, Lily and I were extremely lucky. That was, if you could call becoming a fairy ‘luck’.

“Poor guy… I hope it doesn’t affect him too much.”

---<>----------<>----------<>---

Breakfast time arrived, so Lily changed into a different set of clothes and I put on my slippers before we left our room. Thankfully, my gown and underwear had been changed to fit me while I was unconscious.

We were already halfway to the cafeteria when we saw Anna walking our way. She greeted us and welcomed me back to ‘the world of the living’.

She explained that she was on her way to wake Lily up, so, having saved her the trouble, we went downstairs directly. Dr. Blake was already eating with other staff members when we arrived. Seeing this, we chose a separate table for the three of us.

I allowed Lily to pick what she wanted to eat for breakfast, and I gave her small bits of each dish when we got back to the table. Her eyes twinkled when I gave her a piece of bacon, which she ate gleefully after complaining about how Anna only picked fruits and vegetables whenever it was her turn to share her food.

“Are you a vegetarian, Anna?” I asked, remembering I never actually saw her eating meat.

“Close, but not quite,” she replied, picking at her stacked salad. “This is a side effect of being an elf. Fruits and vegetables have been a lot tastier than meat ever since I became one. I still enjoy a good burger occasionally, but the flavour can be overwhelming.”

“I see. You did mention something like that before. I wonder if my tastes will change after I’ve fully transformed, too. Have you noticed anything like that in your case, Lily?”

She shook her head while munching on a small piece of a doughnut.

Anna chuckled at her response. “Don’t be silly, you’re quite the glutton now.” Not getting any response from the fairy, she explained it to me. “Her metabolism is like that of a hummingbird’s. She needs tons of energy to stay healthy now. You don’t seem to have any changes yet, Nora, but you might also need to consume more food to keep those wings of yours working. I think it will be fine as long as you don’t start catching moths and grasshoppers.”

It is true that many bats eat bugs.

I smirked at her. “I don’t mind it much. Cooking is a shared hobby in my house, and we often eat unusual dishes, insects included. My dad once had us eat ant larvae by saying it was an exotic variety of rice.”

Mary had come over to eat with us that time, and she almost threw her plate at Dad when he revealed the true nature of our food.

“They were rather tasty,” I added, laughing at the funny memory.

Both of them grimaced in response. “Ew!” “Gross...”

I shrugged and continued enjoying my breakfast. When we finished, we followed Anna to help her with the daily checks on the other two patients. We visited Allison first, like always. However, as we approached the door, Anna noticed she forgot to get her equipment from the storage room. After all, she did meet with us before she had the chance to get it. She asked me to get started while she ran to get what we needed, and Lily followed behind her. The first thing I saw as I entered the room was Allison sitting up on her bed. It felt like fate wanted me to be alone and present whenever this happened.

That’s right, she was supposed to wake up soon.

Her tar black hair had already grown out past her shoulders, and her previously robust frame had toned down as if the previously large muscles had compacted somehow. Noticing my presence, her big olive eyes quickly focused on me.

She silently stood up and slowly walked towards me. Now that she was up, I could tell she was easily three times as tall as me. My instincts yelled at me, making me take a step back.

Unaware of my situation, Allison crouched to get a better look at me. Her expression turned from curious to worried when she finally noticed my shaking frame, and she cooed at me, “Calm down, little one. I won’t hurt you, I promise.”

Is this how Lily felt?

I raised my head to look at her face in search for any indication of disgust towards my appearance. Instead, I was only met with a gentle smile, making me feel much more at ease. I smiled back at her.

Big mistake!

“Aw, you’re so cute!” She placed her hands under my armpits and picked me up. I yelped and struggled to get away, but Allison hugged me tightly, keeping me from doing so. I gave up fighting as I felt my body warning me to stop.

She looked pleased with my forced submission. “My name’s Allison. Can you talk, little one?”

“N-Nora...” I said, avoiding eye contact.

Allison sat on her bed and placed me on her lap. “Nice to meet you, Nora.”

She observed me from head to toe and raised an eyebrow. “What are you, exactly?”

I made another attempt to escape, but she prevented it by placing her huge hand behind my wings.

She is gentle, at least.

“I’m a demon... or will be in a few days.”

“Will be? What do you mean by that?” She asked, cocking her head.

“I was still human a few weeks ago, but a virus is changing me. You’re the same as me. Well, sort of.”

The moment I said those words, she placed me on the bed and ran to the bathroom. The bed vibrated slightly with each step she took. She also seemed to have some trouble stopping her body’s momentum due to her new size.

When she recovered, Allison inspected herself in the mirror. “I’m… normal?” She touched her face and examined her body thoroughly. “Am I dreaming?”

“This is all real,” I replied.

I remembered watching a documentary explaining that people with gigantism often experienced difficulties with their bodies. Not taking her size into account, the virus had most likely fixed that problem, if she had it. I was about to tell her the truth when I saw her crying tears of joy. Because of that, I decided to wait for Anna to be the one who ruined the moment. She was the one responsible for leaving me alone with Allison in the first place.

Once she was done admiring her new body, Allison returned to sit on her bed and, despite my attempt to escape, placed me on her lap once more. “Why did it fix me when it did that to you?”

“Can you let me go first?” With a blink as her only response, I sighed and shrugged. “It depends on many things. I look like this because a bat bit me. Do you remember how you got infected?”

They told me it’s unknown how the original virus propagated, so it’s worth asking to find any clues.

“No. The only unusual thing I remember was feeling pain and vomiting some black stuff on the floor. The next thing I know, I’m in a strange place speaking to a baby demon.”

“Baby!?” I scowled. I knew I looked like a child, but that was way too much of a stretch. “I may not look like it, but I’m already eighteen years old.”

Frowning, she lifted me up and brought me closer to her face. “It’s not good to lie, little one.”

Being so close was intimidating, but I was far more annoyed. There was a sudden burst of laughter as I tried freeing myself. Looking over my shoulder, I saw Anna leaning against the door, struggling to regain control. Lily was on her shoulder, laughing as well.

Allison turned her attention to Anna. “Hey!” She placed me back on the bed and walked until she stood in front of her. She then bent forward with her hands on her hips. “It’s not polite to laugh at others, young lady.”

I fought hard to contain my own laughter. Anna’s shocked expression was priceless.

Allison then looked behind them and finally noticed something was wrong. “Why is there a tiny door there?”

Anna cleared her throat before speaking. “I’m sorry for laughing. I just didn’t expect to find such an interesting scene when I opened the door, that’s all. I know it sounds crazy, but Nora was telling the truth.”

Allison seemed perplexed at first. She looked at me, seeking a clear answer.

Why me!? She’s already explaining!

Oh, whatever...

“You’re a giant, Allison.”

She laughed in response. “I know that already, little one.”

“You’re over three metres tall,” I replied instantly.

I lowered my sight as she approached and lifted me again. I really hoped this wasn’t how she would treat me all the time.

“Please look at me.” Allison held me tightly, but she was still careful not to hurt me. She waited until I lifted my sight to speak. “Why didn’t you say anything before?”

“You looked really happy when you saw your reflection. I didn’t want to ruin it for you.”

Her face suddenly relaxed. “Aw, thank you~! I still prefer that you tell me the truth, though.”

She hugged me briefly before placing me back on the bed. “Plus, I don’t mind being a giantess. I’ve been one for a long time, after all. More importantly, my body doesn’t hurt now! Being a bit bigger is a small price to pay, don’t you think?”

Yeah, just a little bit bigger…

“I probably won’t fit in my apartment now, though,” she added jokingly.

Anna came closer and cleared her throat once more to get her attention. “You can always stay in this room if you want, Allison. We designed it for you, after all. I can even get a few volunteers and bring your belongings here. You won’t need to pay anything as long as you help around the place.”

Allison smiled enthusiastically. “Thank you! I’ll take your offer, uh… I don’t think I got your name.”

“My name’s Anna, and this is Lily,” she said, pointing at the fairy standing on her shoulder.

Allison seemed confused for a moment, so she moved closer to see what Anna was pointing at. The elf, in return, stepped back until the door stopped her.

Allison frowned and slightly squinted her eyes before she spotted Lily. “Oh, a fairy! Aw, you’re so tiny~!” She cleared her throat. “Nice to meet you both. And Anna, there is no need to be afraid. I have no intention of harming any of you, so please, relax.”

This was simply something we needed to get used to. Lily acted the same way when she came out of her cocoon and she was fine now, even with Allison, surprisingly.

“Sure. Sorry about that.” Anna then clapped her hands together. “Now, I know it’s a bit sudden, but I’d like to get some measurements and a blood sample from you if you don’t mind.”

Allison stood up and walked to the bed. “Sure, I guess. What do I need to do?” She asked as she placed me back on the floor.

Freedom!

We went through the same routine as always. Since she was awake, however, we could finally weigh her again. The room had a special scale designed to support her weight, so she only needed to stand on it like any other device of that kind.

Her expression filled with horror for the first time as she looked at the number marked by the machine. Her weight was 653 kilograms! That made Allison at least eight times heavier than the average woman.

After she recovered from the shock, we got her to lay down on her bed so we could measure her final height of 3.62 metres.

Finally, Anna took a few pictures of her, as well as the blood sample. She then looked at me and smirked. It gave me a bad feeling. “Hey, Nora, since you seem to get along so well with Allison, would you mind keeping her company for a while longer? I still have to visit Connor, and Lily needs to go through some tests at the lab. We’ll get your own measurements later today.”

I assumed ‘Connor’ was the name of the werewolf Lily mentioned earlier. That aside, I didn’t want to be left alone with Allison again. I hated being treated like a child, and she made it even worse by handling me like a baby.

Despite that, I accepted. I felt it was my duty to help by answering any questions she could have, like Anna did for me before. After the door closed, Allison did as expected and picked me up before sitting on her bed and placing me on her lap again.

This is my life now…

I was about to protest when she found my biggest weakness. She began stroking the top of my head with her fingers, causing me to melt instantly. It wasn’t rare for me to ask one of my parents to do it whenever we sat on the couch to watch the telly, but I would never ask this of a stranger. Since she took the initiative, however, there was nothing I could do other than enjoy it. I laid down across her legs and let her continue.

Allison kept running her fingers through my hair whilst avoiding my horns. She looked down at me with an odd expression. “Where are your parents, little one? Are you alone?”

I groaned.

I just told you I’m eighteen…

Feeling too sleepy to go through it again, I remained motionless and slowly closed my eyes. “No, they’re back home. They are not allowed to visit until my transformation is over.”

She clicked her tongue in response. I simply disregarded it and continued with my own question. “What about you, Allison? Won’t you let your family know about your situation?”

Her hand flinched briefly before continuing. “I wonder if they even know where I am. How long have I been here?”

I was already having trouble concentrating as I became sluggish. I yawned before responding, “A bit less than a month. I don’t know if anyone told them you were brought here or not. You may need to ask for permission to call, actually.”

“I see… I’ll check that later then. They might get worried if they don’t hear from me after so long.”

She chuckled briefly before adding, “I lost my job for sure, though.”

That was the last thing I heard before I finally drifted off into sleep.