Next morning, once inside the lab, he moved fast. He placed the cage down gently. MRI first. Then bloodwork. Then the neural activity probe. He ran every test he could. The ones his apartment setup couldn't handle.
He didn't spend much time analyzing the data. Just printed the scans, compiled the files, stacked the readouts together and slid them into his folder. He'd go through them later.
Right now, he just needed to get them all. Before anyone asked questions.
Then the door opened behind him.
Someone stepped inside, clearing their throat.
"Doctor Inak… Doctor Lence wants to see you in his office."
Inak didn't look up right away. He was still staring at the monitor.
Then he blinked, nodded once.
"Alright."
He put the rat back in the cage. Gathered the papers. Shoved everything into his bag.
Then started heading toward Lence's office.
---
As soon as he stepped inside and laid eyes on him, he knew.
By the look on his face.
Not good.
"You wanted to see me?" Inak said as he entered the room.
"Yes," Lence replied, soft. "Please. Have a seat, Inak."
The room felt colder than before. Lence's hands were folded on the desk, too neatly. The blinds were half-closed, casting slatted shadows across the floor. Something was off. Too quiet.
Lence inhaled slowly, eyes flicking to the edge of the desk, then back to Inak.
"I don't know how to put this…but… the board has fired you..."
Inak raised an eyebrow. And let out an awkward chuckle. "What?"
"You've missed over a month of work," Lence continued, trying to stay calm. "We emailed you. Called. The board gave you multiple chances. Weeks went by with nothing. No explanation. Nothing. We even sent someone to check on you. You didn't open the door. You didn't respond. We couldn't wait anymore. We had to move forward. A replacement's already been arranged."
Inak's gaze fixed on the desk, his jaw tightening as he bit down on his thumb. Silence hung heavy for a moment.
"Pfuh.."
Then grew into a soft laugh, then louder… spilling out in bursts
"Heh pheh... he... ha hauh... HA HAGHA!" …almost animalistic in sound.
"Inak—" Lence began, voice hesitant.
As soon as he spoke, Inak's tone snapped hard, all humor gone.
"Don't… Lence just don't start… don't pity me… you are nothing…. sitting in this little box, behind your nameplate, pretending to be someone important... you're not....
you're just a dirty—dirty dog, waiting for the board to throw you a bone. Ticking off your little boxes, doing your paperwork, sipping coffee like your miserable life means something.
You think you can get rid of me?
I laid the foundation of this entire place.
I decided the studies.
I practically ruled over you.
I might leave the building, but my name will stay in every paper, every book…
I own this place.
In fact… I own you, Lence."
He turned and limped toward the door.
Lence stood, flustered. "Inak—don't make this personal—"
"FUCK YOU, Lence." Inak said without turning.
Then slammed the door.
As soon as he stepped out of the office, a crowd had gathered outside, eyes wide in shock.
As he pushed through the stunned crowd, Inak spat out, "Can a fucking crippled man walk here?!"
A few steps later, he spotted Melody. His face froze… she looked... different.
"Hello, Melody," he said quietly.
"Hello, Inak," she replied, her voice flat.
"How are you?" His tone was calm, still catching his breath.
She hesitated, then finally said, "Seriously? Now you care? I called you every hour of every day. I haven't slept in days, hoping you'd be okay. I even showed up at your place. You didn't answer the door. Were you even home? Why are you doing this to me?" Her voice cracked, almost breaking into a tear.
Inak whispered, "So it was you..."
"I don't want to talk to you Inak, honestly. I have more important things to do…"
With that, she walked past him.
Inak stood frozen, the world suddenly feeling unbearably still.
After a long while, he forced himself to move… he grabbed his bag, then the cage.
He then stepped outside and without a word, he flung the cage into a trash bin… with the rat still in.
He didn't look back.
His legs barely carried him to his car. He climbed inside, slamming the door shut behind him. Hands trembling, he gripped the steering wheel so tight his knuckles turned white.
Then, a guttural scream tore from his throat.
---
Almost an hour passed, and he just sat there, utterly broken, eyes locked on the ceiling of the car.
Then, after what felt like forever, Inak blinked… slowly coming back into his body. His hands moved on their own, unzipping the bag beside him.
He pulled out the lab results. A thick stack of scans, printouts, chemical readings, neural data. His eyes flicked through them, barely focusing at first… but then he forced himself to read.
And read.
His expression changed. Confused first. Then narrowing his eyes. Then disbelief. His fingers trembled as he turned each page, scanning faster.
The MRI was clear: the brain, nervous system, even internal organ layout… all gone. Replaced. The parasite hadn't just taken control.
It had become the host.
There was no rat.
The scan showed no trace of the original rat. The parasite had completely taken over. The parasite's tissue had spread through the skull, replacing the brain entirely. What used to be neural pathways were now just parts of the parasite. It wasn't sharing the body… it had become the body.
And yet… the subject behaved like any ordinary rat. Normal movement. Social response. Grooming habits. Feeding patterns. Nothing out of place.
It wasn't mimicry.
It was the rat now.
He looked across the street at the trash bin.
The cage sat half-sunken in the garbage, just visible under torn plastic and scraps of cardboard. The rat was still inside. Still… moving. Still alive.
Just a rat.
Sitting there. Breathing. Blinking…
…watching something sacred and wrong at the same time. Something that shouldn't exist… but did.
"A miracle…" He said under his breath.
He sat in the car, silent.That's when he made his choice.Everything from here on was fixed.No second chances.
He started the car.
Didn't check the mirrors. Just drove.
His hands moved on the wheel, but his mind was somewhere else… replaying the images, the scan, the rat.
He didn't even notice how far he'd gone.
Eventually, the car pulled into a pharmacy. He stepped out, grabbed a handful of supplies, a water bottle, and a few pill packs. Didn't speak a word. Barely looked the cashier in the eye.
Then he drove again.
---
The city blurred into the countryside. Traffic thinned. Streetlights grew scarce. The silence got louder. Almost completely dark now.
Until finally… he stopped.
A bridge. A long stretch of steel and concrete, arching over a wide, restless river. Inak pulled the car to a stop right in the middle, the engine ticking quietly as it cooled. He didn't get out.
Instead, he sat inside and reached for the stack of papers in the passenger seat. He unfolded the pages and stared, tracing the lines with his finger. adding notes, crossing out parts, rewriting.
---
Hours passed with nothing but the sound of the river below and the occasional distant car. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a boy standing at the far edge of the bridge. He immediately knew what that meant. This bridge was known for averaging two suicides a day. A boy standing there alone was anything but ordinary.
Inak sat the papers aside, grabbed the water bottle he'd bought earlier, opened the door, and stepped out. The night air was cool and still. Cane in hand, he walked steadily toward the boy, his pace slow and careful… not wanting to startle him.
The boy hadn't noticed Inak yet. Then Inak heard him talking. Someone else? I only saw him… Inak thought, slowing his steps.
The boy was clearly speaking to someone, but Inak could only hear his voice.
His words came out ragged, broken.
"I... I can't anymore."
A pause.
"I want to die..."
His voice cracked, trembling in the quiet night.
"It's too much... I... can't."
Then the crying came, raw and uncontrolled. He was gasping, choking on it, like even the air was too heavy to carry.
And then—
A scream. "HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH…"
So sharp it cut through the air like a blade.
Inak flinched. He felt it in his ears, in his teeth.
The boy shifted closer to the edge.
"KID!" Inak called out,
The boy turned. Eyes red, face streaked with tears.
"Stay back!" he shouted. "Whatever you say won't matter. I've already decided. Nothing can stop me."
Inak didn't move. Just stood there, leaning on his cane.
"Relax, kid," he said calmly. "I'm not here to stop you. I'm just here to help."
Inak observed him… age about sixteen. Thin, short, ragged clothes. Black, messy curly hair tangled over his forehead. Looked like he hadn't eaten in days… poor, probably.
The boy looked him over. Some pale man leaning a cane.
Didn't seem like much of a threat.
Inak pulled the water bottle from his coat pocket and held it out.
"Here. Drink this."
The boy stared.
"Water helps," Inak said. "Puts something in your stomach. Makes you feel better"
The boy took it. Hands shaking. He started gulping down half the bottle in seconds, like he hadn't had anything all day.
After a while, his breathing slowed. His shoulders dropped a little.
"I'm... I'm sorry I yelled earlier," he said, voice quieter now.
"All good, kid," Inak replied, already lighting a cigarette. The flame from the lighter briefly lit up his face, sharp shadows across his cheekbones. He took a slow drag, then asked, "What's your name?"
"Mi... Michael,"
"Michael," Inak nodded. "Biblical name. Are you a Christian, Michael?"
"Not really," Michael said, eyes drifting off again, somewhere over the river.
"I'm Fredrick," Inak said. "Tell me... what's on your mind, Michael." He exhaled smoke
Michael hesitated. Then it poured out.
"I don't know. I just... I don't see the point. I'm useless. Nobody wants me around. Everyone thinks I'm weird. I talk too much, laugh at the wrong things, say stuff that makes people uncomfortable... I don't know how to be normal. My aunt doesn't want me around either. Since my mother died, I've been living with her, but she doesn't want me there..."
"I see..." Inak said softly. "I heard you talking to someone else a moment ago. Is there anyone else here?"
"Seraph is here..." Michael said, pointing toward nothing.
Inak raised a brow realizing Michael was dealing with something deeper… most likely schizophrenia.
"She reminds me of my mother," Michael added quietly.
"I know what that's like, kid. I lost my mother not long ago."
A pause stretched between them, carried by the rhythm of the river.
"Mind if I sit?" Inak asked.
Michael shrugged.
With some effort, Inak lowered himself down, placing his cane beside him. It took a moment with his joints resisting the motion… but eventually, he was seated beside the boy.
They sat in silence, staring at the water.
---
After a moment, Inak spoke.
"Most people," he said, "they talk a lot but say nothing. They pretend they've got something going on... but all they care about is money, their jobs, getting through the day, drinking—whatever they're addicted to. It's dull. Boring. Uninteresting. So why would the opinion of someone like that even matter?
They're nobody, Michael. Forgettable.
So why would you want to be remembered by someone forgettable?
Be more than that."
As Michael's racing thoughts began to settle, a sense of gratitude washed over him. For so long, he had felt like a lone soul. And now, here was someone who seemed to understand him in a way he had never hoped for. With a heartfelt expression, Michael turned to give his thanks to Inak. But upon laying his eyes on him, his stomach dropped…
Inak's eyes were too wide. He looked inhuman.
His smile was even wider, curving in ways a mouth shouldn't. He kept staring, maybe hoping something would move. But it didn't. Not the mouth. Not the eyes. Not even the breath.
It was like watching a photograph pretend to be alive.
And the worst part?
That smile still looked like it was meant for him.
Michael fainted before he could even react. Something was in that bottle.