Symbiosis

Chapter 1

((This story is a work of fiction. There are no characters in my story that are based off of real people. Any characters that resemble real life people is purely coincidental.))

---

Alex hefted the large black crate he was carrying, and with a deep breath, lifted it above his shoulders and stacked it on another black crate that was sitting on a cart. He took a couple of breaths and wiped away a bead of sweat forming on his forehead. "Ugh, ow, that's heavy... okay, what else needs to go on, Spencer?"

"Actually I think that's it for that. Thanks, Alex," a tall, slightly muscular and slightly scruffy guy responded. "Uuummm... oh, actually, if you can help Preston check for damaged shirts in the new shipment we got this morning, that'd be great," he continued, hopping into the driver's seat of the cart.

"Can do." Alex said, stretching out his tired arms. Those crates aren't massively heavy, but Alex, unfortunately, was never really the greatest at physical labor. He was about average height, slightly below average weight, and compared to his coworkers, not a ton of strength. And the fact that it was a hot summer day certainly didn't help matters. But he enjoyed the job he was working nonetheless, and hoped the experience would some day get him somewhere even better.

Alex went back inside to help out his coworker do damage control. Alex worked in a warehouse in the city of Austin, Texas, for a retail store right around the corner in a separate but close building. His job was mostly inventory management including receiving new shipments, sending them to the stores, backstocking the excess, and he also worked in the store itself from time to time. It was pretty good work for twelve dollars an hour, he thought. Although it's going to get very busy soon, because college is about to start back up. And where there's college, there's new students and sport fans looking to buy new stuff to support their team. Being a sports fan himself, he didn't mind at all. In fact, he welcomed the coming season with open arms. If only it would get here quicker.

Alex and Preston ended up going through three boxes full of shirts before Alex got up and started towards a door leading elsewhere in the warehouse. "I'm gonna use the restroom. I'll be right back."

"Okay. When you get back though, I think Nick needs some help pulling shirts for the stores," his coworker responded. "I can finish up here."

Alex nodded, but then frowned and looked around, visibly confused. "Is he here? I haven't seen him since Spencer took off."

Preston pointed towards a row of shelves and a bulky man about half a foot taller than Alex poked his head out. "Yea, I'm here. What, were you missing me?" he asked teasingly.

Alex rolled his eyes and chuckled as he turned back towards the door. "You wish. I just didn't see you. That's all. You're so quiet, you're like a friggen ghost."

"Uh huh, sure-" Alex didn't know or care who responded, as he was already halfway out the door by then.

---

Alex stepped out of the bathroom, phone in hand, and started slowly towards the warehouse again. He let out a loud sigh and shook his head. It was still way too long until football season. So close and yet so far. Alex preoccupied his mind by reading various sports stories and predictions on the internet, but there was only so much that could keep him patient for so long. Of course, this happens every year. Always at the very end of the offseason does the wait become even more painful. And it always feels like the wait gets worse every year. It was like an uncomfortable heat rising up that wouldn't go away until kickoff of the very first game of the year. Or maybe that bit was just because he lived in Texas.

Alex put his phone into sleep mode and attempted to slide it in his pocket, but he ended up dropping it and it fell to the ground with a loud clatter. "Fuck! Are you kidding me?!" Alex hissed as he picked it up to inspect for damage. Thankfully, there didn't seem to be any more damage than what was already there. Nonetheless, he couldn't help but feel annoyed at himself every time he dropped his phone. It only added to his impatience for football season not yet arriving, and he felt the anger swell up in his chest to uncomfortable levels. Alex sighed and tried to calm himself down. 'This is ridiculous,' he thought to himself, 'I'm getting way too worked up over everything. Just get though today... tomorrow will come and you'll be one day closer,' Alex told himself. Alex took a breath, but he was surprised and a bit startled that the heat in his chest wasn't going away.

Actually, it was getting worse. Alex felt his heart drop. He wasn't sure what was going on, but it was certainly not normal. He briefly considered that he might have to go home early and get to a doctor, but that thought was quickly quelled as he realized not only was the heat rapidly spreading throughout his entire body, but he was starting to glow as well. "What the hell is going on?" Alex yelled out loud, panicking at this point. 'Is this how I die? This doesn't feel like death! Am I ever going to be the same if I get out of this? What even IS this?' Several thoughts similar to that were running through his head at once as he tried to process the absolutely bizarre turn of events. Soon, however, the light became blinding, and Alex could feel his body physically changing. It was not a normal sensation at all, and Alex was afraid that his heart would explode at this rate due to fear alone.

And then he passed out. It was almost instantaneous, and mere seconds after he did, the blinding light that filled the halls suddenly dimmed back to normal levels. Alex blinked his eyes open mere moments later as he regained consciousness. He was sprawled out on the ground, looking up at the ceiling. Alex groaned and tried to lift his head up, but found it very difficult to do so. He tried to force himself up for a few seconds, but soon gave up and he let his head drop back down to the tile floor. "...ow." It might not have been the best idea to do that.

Whatever happened to him, it drained him of all his strength and made him feel very dizzy. Maybe it was something he ate last night and the food poisoning made him hallucinate? That shrimp he had last night didn't taste very good, after all. Not that he normally enjoys shrimp in the first place. He groaned and brought a hand to his forehead, but found it difficult to do so. 'Okay yea, I absolutely need to take the day off... fuck.' Alex sighed and tried to steady himself again. 'Huh, my arm feels really off- actually, my EVERYTHING feels really-' "WHAT THE FLYING FUCK?!"

Alex looked at his arm. It was short, stubby, and pink. And not the pink you see on human skin, but actual pink. And then he noticed his feet. His shoes missing were the least of his concerns. His feet looked nothing like a human foot. It looks incredibly elongated, and carried that same pink color of his arms. 'What.' "What." Alex tried to roll over, but ended up rolling on top of some soft thin rod he didn't even know was there. And then he felt a sharp pain. "Ow! What the-?!" Alex rolled off of it and landed in front of it. He gave a very confused look to a soft pink rod that swelled up at the end. It had the same pink tint as- "Oh you are kidding me." Alex sat up and followed the rod to see where it ended up. No way. It was attached to him. Alex gave it a strong tug and felt another sharp pain. "Ah! Yup, that's... that's a fucking tail. That's a tail, and it's attached to me. A real tail. What the fuck what the fuck what the-" Alex stopped himself. He blinked twice, then noticed how abnormally large the hallway he was in was. It had never been that big before. "Wait a minute..." That tail and foot shape started to look very familiar to Alex, and he felt his heart sink into his chest as he now had a sneaking suspicion as to what he turned into.

He started rapidly examining his body, and found that he was incredibly small compared to how he used to be. He was pink all the way throughout his body. "No fucking way..." Alex had to determine one more thing. He slowly brought his hand- or rather his paw, up to where his ears should normally be. Nothing. Just smoothness. Alex felt his heart sink again. He wanted to examine the top of his head next, but he wasn't able to reach. But it's not like he didn't know what would be up there anyways. He had a pretty good idea what was going on now. "Di- did I just turn into a fucking mew?!" he shouted in the empty hallway.