Day four. In the morning, Percy noticed a strange rash on his abdomen. Immediately associating it with some kind of reaction to the "harmful" pills, he resolutely flushed all remaining antibiotics down the toilet. After thinking for a moment longer, he sent the effervescent aspirin down there as well. Although the junior marketer still felt body aches—a sure sign of fever—he was nevertheless convinced that he would now definitely feel better.
Today, neither missed work nor any government conspiracies worried him anymore. Only a phone call from an unknown number briefly brought back a sense of anxiety. While the smartphone blared with an intrusive melody, Percy sat in a daze, staring blankly at the flashing screen displaying unfamiliar numbers. But the decision came by itself: when the device fell silent, the junior marketer completely turned it off, finally cutting himself off from the outside world.
Now Percy was completely calm. The pain in his chest had subsided. And although the heaviness remained, it spread inside like a pleasant warm spot, pressing him into the chair, weighing down his head like lead, making him feel sleepy. The junior marketer decided not to resist and treat himself "the old-fashioned way." So he made himself tea, prepared sandwiches with raspberry jam, settled down in front of the TV, and spent the whole day aimlessly flipping from one program to another.
Periodically, he fell into brief periods of unconsciousness, completely confusing day with night. In the dim light, he again saw semi-transparent tentacles. They streamed directly from the flickering screen, spreading across the floor like pools of sticky liquid, crawling up the chair, soaking through his clothes, rising up his neck, filling his ears, and penetrating his brain. Percy woke up from the nightmare drenched in sweat and pulled off his soaked T-shirt. The rash began to spread throughout his body and changed in places, turning into small swollen blisters filled with fluid. Fortunately, Percy didn't feel any pain or itching, so he simply wrapped himself in a blanket and stared again at the TV show. A popular science program about the underwater world with swaying seaweed and a tedious voice-over lulled him and prevented him from concentrating. The junior marketer's thoughts once again drifted away from reality. "After all, our ancestors were much wiser than we are," he mused. "They lived in harmony with nature, without any chemicals that constantly cause allergies. They treated themselves with leeches... Probably they drained not only blood from the body but also various toxins. Like those... Filtering sea sponges. Or freshwater hydras."
Percy thought he had fallen asleep again, but someone knocked. For some reason, this time he didn't feel any apprehension and got up to open the door. Standing on the threshold was Claire. He never asked how or why she suddenly appeared here. These questions briefly arose in his mind but immediately vanished. Percy let the guest into the room and followed her in as if nothing had happened. The office manager also said nothing. She looked ordinary—wearing the same white blouse and blue pantsuit as usual. Even her name badge was pinned to her jacket, as if she had just arrived straight from the office. However, her face, usually glowing with a playful smile, now resembled a marble statue. Claire turned to Percy and, without changing her expression, began undressing. In this seemingly rather exciting and provocative situation, the junior marketer saw nothing attractive. Either because of the girl's unnaturally cold and impassive gaze, or because all her actions seemed unnaturally mechanical. Percy noticed only that Claire had similar swollen blisters on her chest and stomach.
Suddenly, a stationery knife appeared in the girl's hand. In the dim light, the blade gleamed as it clicked out. The junior marketer didn't have time to be frightened or step back, because the guest calmly turned the knife toward herself, firmly grasped it with both hands, plunged the blade into her abdomen, and pulled upward with force. The flesh parted to the sides, pushed by some internal pressure. Percy was even surprised to see protruding bluish intestines, but the terrible wound practically did not bleed. At the same time, he couldn't tear his gaze away from the horrifying sight. Claire's insides continued to emerge outward in swollen loops, twitching and pulsating. Now they more closely resembled a tangle of writhing snakes. One of them, proving quicker than the others, shot out, silently opened its mouth surrounded by six repulsive tentacles, and swiftly lunged at the junior marketer. A strong burning sensation on his face and the feeling of a long slimy intestine forcing its way into his throat—this was the last thing Percy remembered before losing consciousness. And it was also the last time he went on a date with a girl.