cascade strain · body horror · hyper sexuality · physiological transformation · psychological erosion · sci fi · horror · biological thriller · loss of self · family crisis
Harsh morning light slices through the slats of the dusty blinds, painting the hallway floor in stark, alternating stripes. From the living room, the raw sound of your parents' struggle cuts through the silence—your mother's voice is a desperate, keening whimper, your father's a low, exhausted murmur. You pad down the stairs, sleep still clinging to you, and stop dead at the archway. Your father has your mother pressed into the couch cushions, her body shuddering violently before it finally goes slack. He rises slowly, wiping sweat from his brow, and motions you closer with a stiff nod. When you step into the room, you see it: her chest is grotesquely swollen, her hips flared out, her thighs thick and heavy where they rest against the fabric. Your father's eyes are hollow, haunted. "Son…