Ever Changing Until Depletion

The virus had grown tired of its host. The female human it had been researching the past week had failed to relinquish any type of response to Its probing. Delving inside it’s own consciousness, trying to decipher what It had done wrong, It waited for its next host to present itself. This would be at any moment It presumed, humans were clumsy to say the least. Two other humans were in the room, males. They were packing a piece of glass with some cannabis and passing it around in a circle between the three of them.
“Yes, one of these will do fine.” It thought as it attached to the glass device.

Guy awoke with severe chest congestion and a small fever. He laid in bed adjusting his eyes to the light and his mind to the usual routine of his day. Not really much of a routine, but it was his and no one else’s.
He started with a skim through the various social networks online and that early in the morning the only people saying anything on their social cry for attention machines were old relatives or uninteresting people looking for contact. Guy logged off.
His chest and head were really killing him, he decided to take some Thera-Flu and drink a lot of fluids. Scrounging in his kitchen for other remedies that could cure his unpleasantness Guy finds a gallon of Simply Orange, his favorite orange juice, and takes a few long gulps. Letting out a sigh of relief as the cool liquid slid down his throat and into his belly, (dry from a night of congested sleep) he silently thanked his roommate Travis.
Hopping into his shower Guy felt like conquering the world. Shower time is always a fun time for him, singing ridiculously loud to any old oldie that popped into his head, cleansing away not only the grit of the day but his love for the night. He was laughed at sometimes by his roommate or visiting friends, but that didn’t really matter to guy, so he sang anyway. This particular morning he was singing Irma Thomson’s Time is on my side.
“TiiiIIIIiiiiaame! It’s on my siiiiahhde. YES IT IS!”
Just like any other regular day, until….
“No it’s not Guy.”, Said an extremely eerie sound inside Guy’s head.
Guy stopped singing, stopped breathing, cut off the shower and listened.
Nothing.
Guy called out, knowing no other being was there, “Who’s there?!”
“Hello Guy.” The voice said with a squeaky pitch that sounded like a child.
“What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck!” Guy panicked.
“Don’t be scared Guy” the voiced said while chuckling. “I can’t really hurt you a whole lot. Not yet.”
“What the hell is going on…? I’m going insane, fuck fuck fuck. I’m not a crazy person damnit! I fucking know this… Just calm down Guy. Take a deep breath!” Guy was extremely confused and scared; rambling to himself was not helping. The voice didn’t think it was the actions of a sane man itself.
“Guy, I’m a virus. I am what is making you feel bad. Sorry about that by the way, but I need you to survive. You may know me as the virus known as the Flu.”
“Oh my god.. I’ve gone insane.” Guy whispered these words as he started to cry, sitting down in his one person shower he had to curl up into a ball.
“Now now Guy, no need for these dramatics. You are not going insane; you are still in control of your entire consciousness as far as I can tell, as am I. Now take control of yourself cause I sure as hell can’t do it for you, but damn how I wish I could learn how to take control of human’s nervous systems.”
“How is this happening to me?” Guy continued with his shocked blubbering.
“Well, I am being rude Guy, you don’t know my name. For good reason though, trust me, I’ve never had one. Would you like to help me pick one out? What’s a good name to you Guy? I’d like it to be someone you are close to, so you can be more comfortable with giving me a name. Hrrmm. Do you have a brother Guy?”
“Yes, Jim.”
“Jim it is!” Jim sounded excited.
“Wow my first name. Jim. Breathe it in. Seriously, breathe it in, I don’t have lungs.”
Guy takes a deep breath for Jim.
“Call me Jim, Guy.”
“I’m really losing it, please please Jim, stop talking to me. Please go away!”
“Ahh, Jim. Thank you Guy, that was pleasant. I am Jim. I want to easy your worries Guy, you have nothing to fear from me, and you won’t always be able to talk to me. Which is kinda starting to make me feel something weird, I don’t know what it is, I like you being my host Guy.”
“… Thanks… Jim. This is really freaking me out, how are you talking to me right now??”
“I, myself, the “Flu” a.k.a Jim, have just tapped into how to reach and slightly manipulate the Broca’s Area on the left side of the frontal lobe, and the Wernicke’s area on the left temporal lobe. Which allow me to communicate to my host’s, and boy am I excited to be able to talk a host at last Guy. There were billions and billions before you, and finally here we are at last. You should, in all actuality, feel honored Guy.”
Guy had gotten out of the shower and dressed during “Jim’s” explanation and consultation. He planned on going straight to the doctor. If he was going insane he didn’t want anyone else to get hurt because of stubbornness.
“Oh yes JIM!? I should feel honored I’m gonna have to spend the rest of my life in a psych hospital!? Fuck you.. Fuck me. Damnit, stop talking to yourself!”
“I am telling the truth Guy, I know it will take some convincing, I have been there with homosapeans every step of the way. True I cause some discomfort but a virus has gotta eat haha, ya know what I mean?”
Jim’s attempt at humor did not help things.
So the voice in my head is telling me that I’m not insane.. I would guess that’s what would happen when one goes insane, guess that’s why very few insane people think they are not insane. Well, that settles it, going to the crazy house.
Guy hadn’t quite caught on to the fact that Jim could hear what he was thinking too.
“No need for a hospital you silly host you. I think we should enjoy the time we have together; you did after all take that medicine which is a real bother to me right now. Wish you hadn’t done that.” Jim pouted like a little child.
“Wish you hadn’t invaded my fucking mind and body asshole” Guy screamed out loud as he headed towards the door.
“I didn’t want to have to do this Guy, but I am lonely and you will not go to the hospital. The Broca and Wernicke’s part of the brain are not the only part I have tapped into. I can also send messages to your Thalamus which relays where pain is occurring in your body to the rest of your brain.”
Guy stops a few feet from the door, he has an insane paranoid look in his eyes and everything seems to be waving to and fro. He has to sit down.
“What the hell are you doing to me!?!? Stop!”
“I’m terribly sorry Guy, but we need to have a talk. You shouldn’t try to leave again, because I have more control over your actions than you think. I can make it to where you can’t talk if I so chose. So please, sit down.”
Guy sat down in his father’s old lazy boy, his favorite seat. “I guess I don’t have a
choice Jim, let’s hear it.”
“Excellence Guy! Cooperation. I love it. What is your last name Guy?”
“You have got to be fucking kidding me!” Guy roars.
“I don’t know Guy, that’s pretty long for a human name. Can it just be Guy You?”
Guy slumps back down into his chair and put his head in his hands.
“Alright! Guy You and Jim Virus! Talking it up… Conversation style.” Jim was having a blast.
“Guy, did you really think that humans were the only thing that evolved throughout the time of this earth? Negative my new friend everything evolves. Nothing stays the same. Mankind will soon learn that in the worst way. We microbes, such as the common cold or flu, are actually far more intelligent than your human race. We thrive in everything Guy, and you humans are merely giant moving motels to us. Very interesting to view the life of a human, younger viruses these days spend all their time sucking the life out of anything they attach themselves to, too weak to survive on their own because of an abundance of hosts, that’s not for me though. I’d prefer a good bird any day.”
Guy was trying to get back up to his feet in the small square of a shower.
“That is about to end though.” Jim continued. “I have come across a problem; we microscopic organisms will soon become too harmful to the human body for them to last even a couple weeks. Guy, we thrive… In Everything, the human race will come to an end.”
“Jesus, please tell me what you are doing in my head.” Guy moaned.
“You are just the flavor of the week Guy. I have been trying to make contact with your Neanderthal race to no avail for longer than you can imagine, but you are special and I can’t place my imaginary finger on it but you are unique.” Jim’s childish voice was unsettling to Guy.
“Unique how? That I’m crazy? There are plenty of crazy people, Jim, hate to bust your bubble.”
“You numbskull, you are the first person in the history of the world to be able to communicate with a virus. Of course I have spent the last million years or so trying to communicate to my hosts, so I should get the majority of the credit…”
Guy coughed.
“Sorry I can’t cough so I made you.” said Jim sheepishly.
“You want me to congratulate you?” Guy sounded amazed.
“It’ took a long time Guy, a few aahhhs and ooooos would be nice.” Jim was getting a little perturbed. “Ok Guy, you want the scoop? You don’t want to talk to a billion year old consciousness? That’s your prerogative.”
At last Guy spoke, “Is there anyway to stop this?” He thought to himself that he was giving into his insanity, but if the world is in danger he will listen to any voice from anywhere if it will help. He was sure now that was how mentally insane people felt, maybe not about the end of the world but about something extremely important to them, that they couldn’t live without.
“No way at all Guy, I’m sorry if I sound so excited, this has been millions of years in the making. Honestly I don’t mind you around; entertaining at times even, but there is no stopping change.”

Travis, Guy’s roommate, comes into the apartment to find Guy curled up in the corner of the room between the two sofas murmuring incoherent ramblings. Travis was a good man and a good roommate, paid his bills and was understanding to most situations, but this seemed like a scary scene to him.
“You ok Guy?” He whispered across the room.
Travis took a glance around their apartment, there were drawings of giant
brains with little monsters on them and “The end will come when we are cold!” was spray painted on the ceiling. “What did you take man, what’s going on here? Have you gone insane Guy? What the fucking shit!?!?” Caution started to fade from Travis and anger flooded in.
Guy jumps up, covered in green spray paint from the ceiling and magic marker markings. “We will die soon my friend.” He hissed at his roommate.
That was too much for Travis, he knew his friend was sick now and he was gonna get him some help. So he picked up the aluminum bat by the door used for security and whacked Guy right on the side of the head. Guy fell limp to the carpet. Travis quickly checked to make sure he wasn’t hurt too bad, very small cut on impact no bleeding but a good bit of swelling. He’d be ok long enough to get him to the hospital.
Travis ran to grab a drink for the hospital trip and noticed that the Orange Juice he was saving for the concert the next day was empty.. It had at least 10 hits of acid in it…
“Jesus Christ,” Travis thought, “NO fucking wonder! That little prick is gonna clean up this entire apartment when he comes down AND buy me some more fucking doses!” Feeling a little better about smacking Guy on the head he went ahead and took him to the hospital incase he had cause any type of concussion.
The doctor treated it as just a bump on the head; band aid for the cut and jokingly asking him if he wanted a sucker, which Guy indeed did want a sucker but didn’t say so.

Back at the apartment Travis and Guy talked about the mishap. “I remember getting hit, and then it was like I was in a dark dream... There was this voice... A voice named Jim!” Guy was trying to recall what he couldn’t.
“Your brother Jim?” asked Travis.
“No no, it was like a kids voice, but very intelligent. It told me the end of the world was coming... and I kind of believe it man, I know it sounds crazy. Guess it’s just a feeling.”
Travis, feeling an obligation, explained. “Look man, that orange juice you drank this morning… it had about 10 hits of LSD in it... I didn’t think I had to tell you because it was my fucking OJ anyway.”
“Holy fucking shit, that sounds about right, wow… man. I really am not even mad... I’m relieved! Wow Travis man, I really thought I was going off the deep end.”
“Well you better have gone off the deep end! That was some expensive doses man, and I am gonna need ya to get em back for me dick. Not to mention you fucking need to clean up your Helen Keller art show you put up in our goddamn living room.”

Guy loaded a bowl of some decent herb, always helps after a long day, hit it and passed it to Travis. They were cool again.

Two months later an extremely deadly and contagious virus broke out starting a few counties from where Guy and Travis lived.

One month after that Guy lay in his bed, dying, and the voice returned. “Nice to be in you again Guy You! Sorry it’s been so long, but I’ve been a busy bee. That’s how the saying goes right? Anyway, I knew you would die soon so I had to come say goodbye. You are the one that showed me the way. Shortly after I left you I realized what you had that no one else did, the chemicals in your brain allowed me to control your emotions and overall health to such an extent that it amazed even me. So I have gained my strength on those with that particular chemical and am happy to say that the world of man will be ending sooner than I had expected. I give you guys 5more months at the most, oh not you Guy. You have a week tops. I just wanted to thank you one last time Guy You. Without You, it would have taken me maybe even another million years.” Jim was chuckling as a drifted away from the death of man.

Guy laid in his death bed, hoping his end would come soon.

Sure enough, five months later there wasn’t a human being left on the planet earth.