Venture out

You stick your head out. The hallway is clear, and the white noise machine in the bathroom isn’t running. It’s safe. You amble down and clean up, and that helps a lot. You wrap a towel around your waist and brush your teeth, but you can’t go out like this. Your robe is ready for the trip back to the safety of your room.

You brush away contentedly, thinking about your list of chores today. Obviously, this thing that’s going on has impacted your productivity, but it hasn’t destroyed it. Spreading out and doing chores throughout the house has worked well for limiting trouble. Your family group chat has never been so busy, or so civil. You’re pretty sure that everyone got some release last night, and bad rest. That should buy you a little time before engines start to rev again. You have to make the most of it.

You spit, rinse your toothbrush, and reach for your mouthwash, looking critically at the mirror. You’re worried about fitness and body fat if you can’t go to the gym. You don’t want to embarrass yourself by getting turned on there, but you also don’t want to risk losing your six-pack. You scowl at your reflection and wipe away some fog.

A woman with horns stands behind you.

“Whoa!” You whirl, spilling mouthwash, to find yourself alone in the bathroom.

You put your robe on, troubled. You’ve never hallucinated before. Not even the time that you ate an edible that your housemates warned you not to.

That woman in the mirror seemed familiar somehow. She was also naked and had a nice rack, but you were too scared to be turned on. This is almost as weird as what’s been going on lately.