Trust your friends

You stepped into your apartment, looking around. Hideki's paid internships weren't usually able to support more than a small studio apartment, but Hideki was taking things seriously with you and Daniel, absolutely hoping to retain the level of talent you two had demonstrated while in grad school. As such, the open, spacious living room and open-concept kitchen had plenty of space for large gatherings and game nights.

Everyone you'd expected to be present was in attendance for a typical game night, although the mood was a little more somber. The television was turned to the news of the catastrophe at the lab, volume down low as everyone talked worriedly. The tense mood lifted quickly once you entered, and everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief. Julia, Ken's wife and one of your casual friends since high school, bolted over to give you a hug. "Thank the stars, we hadn't heard anything!" Julia then let go, and socked you in the shoulder. "You should've called!"

You rubbed the back of your neck with a hand, and smiled sheepishly. "I, uh... well, I had a lot on my mind. It's been a confusing day, and I actually was at the hospital until a little bit ago."

Julia stepped back, allowing you to stroll in further. Ken and Daniel were in the kitchen, hovering over a box of pizza. Lisa and her friend Willow had claimed the entirety of the couch. Willow waved shyly at you, while Lisa still seemed glued to the TV. You glanced at the news yourself--the fires had apparently been strengthening all day, with new fires and explosions from various chemicals creating a surreal scene play out on your TV. The ticker at the bottom indicated that the fire was isolated to the north side of the building, and most personnel and any animals or creatures used in research were able to evacuate with minor or moderate injury. No deaths had been confirmed, but there was about a dozen employees who were as of yet unaccounted for.

"Why were you at the hospital, bud?" Ken looked your way, scratching his bearded chin with an inquisitive look. "You seem totally fine. Way better than a lot of the people we saw earlier. Everything a hundred percent?"

You shifted a little, looking down and then over to Ken. "Not really." You paused, and glanced away for a moment. "Daniel, you know how we said earlier that there was some weird R&D happening at Hideki and if anything truly unbelievable were to actually happen at the labs that we'd trust each other, even if it seemed impossible or like some sort of joke or prank?"

"Uh..." Daniel blinked, scrunching his face. "Yeah, I remember that. Pretty sure I came up with it."

"Were you being serious then?"

"Yeah, of course. I JUST said--"

"I nearly died, but Dr. Walker saved my life. However, the treatment changed my body composition. The short story is, Dr. Walker combined with me and I am now part slime-person."

Everyone seemed to burst into laughter once a moment of silence passed and they could process the absurdity of your claim. Lisa nearly fell off her couch, even Willow was giggling a little, apparently thinking you were providing some comedy to lighten the mood. The only other person that wasn't laughing was Daniel, who stared at you with a seriousness you normally wouldn't associate with your usually easygoing friend.

"Can you prove it?" Daniel's gaze never broke from yours.

You took a deep breath, shaking your arms out, like you were limbering up to do something. You didn't really know what, you realized--this was beyond your realm of capabilities. Fortunately, you knew your passenger could help. "Uh, Chloe, do you have anything that..."

From your right shoulder, a green mass gathered that looked like jell-o, forming just a little orb at first before sprouting a fully-featured face. It wasn't as large as a normal human head, with so much slime integrated into your cells there wasn't much else left floating freely, it seemed. But, it was enough for everyone's eyes to go wide and gasp at the green head. "I'm normally pretty direct, Jason, I didn't expect you to just walk in and say anything like that..." Chloe's head glanced around, looking at all the fearful or confused faces, but she again locked on Daniel's gaze. At least Daniel wasn't wavering in his promise to take this seriously.

Everyone went quiet. You couldn't tell what was tumbling around anyone's minds, nor could you really tell if they were mesmerized by the green slime head or simply watching intently for a chance to make a break for the front door, with you still in their pathway. You realized that, stepped aside, and motioned to the door. "I guess if that's too freaky for anyone, I'll understand if you feel like you have to go."

That seemed to calm people down, when they realized they had a choice. Everyone stayed put, except for Julia, who had latched onto Ken's arm for comfort. Daniel crossed his arms. "So... okay. So what? You walk in here, you look fine, I'm guessing you wouldn't have said anything if there wasn't some caveat to your situation. Not to mention, a slime monster that cloned our friend would've done a better job hiding it than... well, than admitting immediately to it."

You nodded, looking at your friends before you grabbed a nearby chair. "There is something. And... it's weird. And I don't want to put any stress on any of you, I'll figure something out if none of you want to help, but..." You shifted uncomfortably, unsure what to say.

Fortunately, Chloe had no challenge finding the words about her nature. "I leech energy from a host, but I'm expending energy to heal Jason. He and I need a totally healthy body to essentially merge with for a couple days out of a week, until he's healed enough that I can leave his body. Were I to leave now to regain my own energy, he wouldn't survive, simple as that. So, over the course of about four weeks, we'll need about four hosts. I have an associate who can help for one week, but this would be a lot easier for Jason to have the support of his friends."

You glanced down, red in the face. This was a particularly ****, bizarre position that made you extremely uncomfortable. You were essentially asking your friends to briefly let their lives be interrupted for your sake, and you weren't even really sure what that would result in.

After another round of silence, Ken motioned to the others, waving them toward the kitchen while you stayed in your chair. "Hey gang, sidebar for a moment?"

Everyone eagerly scurried out of the living area and into the kitchen, huddled close to decide whether you were believable, and whether to decide your fate. You weren't even sure if they'd take this seriously, or find some way to make this even more embarrassing for you.