A Chance at Rehabilitation in a Post Pandemic World

Story by Gabriel Moon on SoFurry

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#116 of Commissions

A journal-style account from two men, both afflicted with different stages of a transformation virus and how a new 'cure' affects their lives going forward.


Mark

Today was the day. I had been waiting with impatience for what felt like an eternity, knowing that it could not come soon enough. Yet, now that it was finally upon me, I couldn't help but be overcome with the real terror that the procedure would not work and that I would be condemned to continue to change, and be forced into the life of a simple animal. Not that I had anything against bears, mind you. But, I certainly didn't want to be one!

I had been one of the rare 'breakthrough' cases that you hear on the news. You know, those that received their double dose of the vaccine but still got sick. I mean, they were common enough, given the spread of the virus. But I was a one out of several tens of thousands that actually started to show the subsequent symptoms. Even less seemed to progress to the point of an actual transformation, let alone one that seemed to be full body. It was not the kind of odds I hoped to win.

My family had been devastated at the news, of course. I think they took it harder than I did, in some ways. I was an up-and-coming stockbroker and the newest accountant to a large firm. One that promised to make them tons of money for their retirement, and likely provide some grandchildren once I met the right woman. It was my life to live, of course, but I was always one of those 'gifted' children, one they had all their chips on. I didn't really like the idea of being used, but I was happy enough with my success for my own reasons. Or, at least, I had been.

My soon-to-be doom came from a recent visit to the midwest to see the folks, one that I finally deemed was safe enough. All of us were double vaxxed, after all, and there was a third dose on the horizon as a booster that I was planning to sign up for as soon as possible. But, that was not to matter soon. I didn't even know if it was the flight, the wait at the airport, or even the cab ride home where I caught it from. But, within a day, I started getting sick.

From there, it was only a few weeks before I started to notice the changes. A few patches of hair. Increased appetite. Stiffened fingers. Excessive weight gain. All concerning, mind you. Still, I certainly had the funds to take some time off until the changes stabilized, as they were likely to do with my vaccination status. I even treated it like a mini-vacation to stay home and watch Netflix all day.

It wasn't until I had lost my hands to paws that I was sure I was fairly likely to fall all the way. I was to be some sort of grizzle bear, it seemed. A larger species, though I didn't really care about that. The change should have stopped before that first burst when I'd developed paws. But, even in cases where the individual was fully vaccinated, once the first full body part change came, the rest was soon to follow. The odds were against me holding on to my humanity, my immune system evidently not able to evade the inevitable effects of the virus.

However, my final fate was not to be an animal on all fours, if all went as planned. Well, at least, I hoped so. The treatment was relatively new and experimental, as I understood it. There was every chance it could fail, as I was often reminded of. It was still in the testing phase, and I had been selected as one of the first for a trial run. There was more than an equal chance that all I had lost and stood to lose could be given back to me. Or at least, I would not lose any more of my body.

The idea behind the treatment was to slow the effects of the novel Zoomorphic virus, and, maybe in some cases, start to reverse them. I was still in the early stages of infection, so I was considered a high probability of success case. Given the fact that I'd also been taken the vaccine should have enhanced my chances as well, which made me all the more eager to undergo the trial. It had something to do with there being enough host DNA was still present in some cases that it could be reversed engineered or some shit. I was an accountant. Sue my lack of biology knowledge.

Every day that I had to wait for the treatment injection was like a living hell. The change always came in spurts, and I had already had to get used to life as a functional cripple, having lost the use of my hands. Each alteration, each itch, and twinge might be a prelude to the next big alteration that might signal that it would be too late for me. But, thankfully, the changes seemed stable and I was able to maintain my humanity, at least, for now.

I'm having all this recorded as part of the coping process. Just in case it doesn't work and I end up being stuck with paws forever. I know there are ways for people to communicate when they become total animals, that it wasn't all helpless. And there were zoos and such that were still taking people on as clients, giving them a life that was far better than a real animal in the wild.

But, I didn't want that to be me. Hell, I didn't even entertain the idea that could be me, given the reality that I might be cured in full. Yet, the longer I had to wait, the more my mind started to wander. I wanted things to go well, and I was sure they had to. For someone like me to lose it all, that was impossible, right? Right?

James

All I could do was nod my head at the men, which was considered a legal sign of consent now that I was an animal. I was given a long-form with a massive page for me to sign with my hoof; another symbol that my humanity and intelligence were intact. It was ruled in the courts to be legally binding, at least.

I really wanted to hold in my breakfast to prevent embarrassing myself in front of the doctors. But, animal that I was, I didn't really have much in the way of resistance with my bowels. My tail raised and I was taking a dump before I could even try to hold it any longer. A few months ago, I wouldn't have cared about such an action. I was an animal, after all, and it didn't matter any longer where I dropped my load. But, if I was going to be human again...

It felt like another life now, though it had only been a matter of months since I'd been human last. Well, at least I think it was a couple of months. It was really hard to say. With little to do, I felt the days passing like weeks until they all seemed to blur together. It was hard to even care about what day it was or how long it had been since I had come here. In the south, the seasons didn't pass as noticeably as they did in other areas. It had certainly gotten cooler as of late, an indication the winter was coming, but periods of warm weather still cropped up, too, making it troublesome to tell sometimes what actual month it was.

However long ago, I had been a Wallstreet tycoon, having made my fortune in the '60s and riding the waves of success ever since. All the status, the women, the respect that came with my money and position were mine for the taking. When news of the virus came, I wasn't concerned. I was rich. I was on top of the world. I was untouchable. Or, at least, so I'd thought.

A visit to a private island was exactly what I thought would be best to do to ride out the pandemic. But, as luck would have it, my attendants seemed to carry a similar nonchalant attitude about the virus, or maybe it was just destined to happen. Either way, I caught the damn thing, sick for two weeks straight if I recalled.

Still, I didn't think much of it. The thing didn't kill me, so I figured it could only make me stronger, right? And, it did. I even added on thousands of pounds of muscle. But once I'd grown my bull's tail, and lost my hands for hooves, I soon had to settle for the fact that, be in my genetic chance or just really shitty luck, I would be on all fours living the farm life. No matter how much money I threw into doctors and treatments, there was no chance of reversing the effects and returning to my humanity.

I can't begin to tell you how painful that had been, losing my humanity. My body was at the physical peak for my age, and save the most severe of illnesses, I was likely going to keep living for a great many years in great health. Losing my hands, control of my body, and my ability to eat anything that wasn't cow feed, brought me more shame than even the aging process. I knew it had to happen someday, old age came for us all and I was becoming more and more aware that I would start to lose autonomy as the years went on. But to have it happen all at once, and in such a public way, was devastating to my psyche and my pride. For, what could be worse than being a stinking bull!?

I'd wanted to keep working even after I'd changed, to be honest. There were still things I could do, still money to be made. But, it soon became obvious to me in my new life, that even though I had the most expensive, private barn that money could buy, there really wasn't much else a bull could do with money. No one wanted to work with me in this form, no one to help with the necessary tasks to keep me in the loop. Thus, I was forced into early retirement out of pure boredom.

Being a bull, even one treated better than most people, still gave me too much time to think. I had been a workaholic when I could have retired twenty years ago and still had a life the envy of most men. I hadn't bothered to get married or have kids to pass on my fortune to, but that was my own choice. Didn't want to have any ungrateful brats inherit my wealth without having to work for it. Still, with all that I'd worked for taken away, my life was a living hell, so to speak. I didn't even want to live the years as a bull I would likely still have if this was all life could offer.

So, naturally, when the opportunity came along for me to partake in a trial to regain my humanity, I jumped at the chance. There was every possibility that it could damn me further, reactivating the genes of the virus in my system. Maybe I would lose my mind as well? But, I figured it was worth the risk. Worse case, I would be a bull in mind, not aware of all I'd lost.

Likely, the whole endeavor would amount to nothing. I was part of the first wave of trials so they didn't really know what would happen. Early tests indicated that it should revert me to a human state. Surely, they just wanted me for the millions that I would be able to use to fund their research. But, with the odds in my favor, I was happy to front the cash. Couldn't use it for anything else as a bull, regardless.

Now, with my hoof stamp as a signature, all I had to do was wait until it was time. They would be back to set up their equipment in the barn where I lived when they were ready. I was one of the few that had changed all the way who were being tested on. If it worked, then it would be viewed as a miracle for anyone living as an animal like I was. I would be a beacon of hope for anyone who lived with the consequences of the virus. Though, of course, I cared only for myself. Call me selfish if you want, but I don't care. I relished the chance to get back out there and make more millions before I was forced to retire again, but this time on my own terms!

Mark

I couldn't help but be worried as fuck as the masked doctor came in, injecting me in the arm with the serum that should allow the viral changes to reverse. I was a little harrier in the spot than I'd wanted to be, but thankfully they could give me the shot in the arm without having to shave away excess bear fur. That would have been embarrassing!

Forced to look in the mirror, I lamented the gradual changes to my nose and beard. It was brownish, the nostrils thicker and slitted from the sides. I hated how much more potent my sense of smell already was, how much the world had opened up in ways that were too drastic for a human to really understand. Worse was, I didn't think this held a candle to what my nose could do if the changes were allowed to continue. Worldly smells were already giving me a headache!

My beard was thicker than my human hair had been, but it was clearly the darker fur of a brown bear rather than the Auburn of my own. A sign of things to come, if this procedure didn't work. No, I reminded myself. It had to work. I would be human again, after today. I will have my hands, my life back. Besides, they wouldn't be allowed to test on me if they weren't sure it would work, right?

I was being monitored by no less than ten doctors, with cameras all over to make sure that not a second of any changes were missed. I was told it was protocol for such things, so I wasn't worried. Maybe the footage would be something worth keeping for posterity? At least they didn't need me to get naked!

"Ok, we're preparing the solution. It shouldn't hurt, and the results will be coming in the next few days. Just give it the time it needs, alright?" Said the doctor, prompting me to nod. I didn't really know what else to say, given the circumstances. All I could do was feel the needle being injected, almost aware of the sensation of the fluids entering me that were going to change me back, give me the life that I deserved...

James

I'm writing this down with my own hands. I'm finally able to now. The serum worked wonders! Well, was still working wonders if I could hardly believe it. I hope the change will keep reversing like the doctors are suggesting it should. I still have a ways to go to get back to being human. But, so far, it looks like I'm getting there!

Over the first few days, I could feel that I was losing weight, at a far too rapid pace for the healthy bull I was. It wasn't a disease state, far from it! It was as though the muscles were reforming, changing from a bull's anatomy to something more akin for the human I longed to be.

It wasn't until a few days in that my hooves started to crack and pop, the joints reforming and allowing me to lift them up and move those two fingers. The dewclaws at the backs of them were starting to lengthen, and there was even a nub at the sides where my thumbs once were. I could feel them changing and growing, and eventually, I could rotate them almost as well as I could once before! It was great!

Every day felt like something new was coming back to me. A little more length from my fingers and toes. My pelvis cracking and altering, making it ever so much more uncomfortable to be on all fours. The separation of my elbows and knees from my flanks. I had actual shoulders again! The serum was really working!

Still, the bovine features never left me, not really. I still had a tail, not the stub of one that I'd known from mid-change. I still had horns, a muzzle, longer ears. My nails were long and dirty, even as they sat at the ends of digits that I could functionally flex. My asshole still sat under my tail, and my, erm, male assets were still inhuman. I was regaining the musculature I needed to be human, but the rest of me largely remained bull, even as the days went on and the tingling of change eventually subsided altogether.

Eventually, I could stand up, walk like I could when I was human. But it was soon after I'd regained my bipedial stance that I realized that this might be it for me. I wasn't changing any further, even as the days went on. The doctors were optimistic, but I was starting to understand better. I would never be the man I once was. And, strangely...I was Ok with that...

Mark

I'm sad to say that the past few weeks have been rather eventful, and not in all the ways I'd been hoping for. I didn't want it to come to this, but I haven't been able to write things down with my own hands until now. Well, paws, still, sort of. I'll get to that.

I've been watching it happening every day in the mirror ever since. The changes, I mean. They started out well enough, I had to admit. My fingers began coming back that day. It ached like a bitch, kinda like growing pains only far more centralized. I think that analogy was apt, given the kinds of changes to one's body that the virus instigated remotely resembling the alterations we went through at puberty.

But, to my horror, my hands didn't come back the way I wanted them to. I had dexterity in my fingers. I had my thumbs, thankfully. But, the claws, shorter as they were, could hardly be called human nails. And the thick pads on my fingertips and palms, albeit useful, did not return to the soft human skin that I was used to.

I remember staring at them day in and day out, hoping for the rest of the bear fur to go away, for the rest of my hands to return to their human state. I looked in the mirror multiple times a day to see if my nose had shrunk, if my beard retracted. Nothing.

It was when the bear hairs started to spread up my arm that I really started to panic. I had my hands back, sure. But the hair was still spreading across my face and arms. I was clearly still changing, and as the hours went by, the intense itching only made me aware that I was altering faster than I'd ever thought possible! The treatment wasn't changing me to human, it was making the virus work over me faster!

Of course, I spent much of the time in the hospital, being monitored to make sure the transformations weren't forcing me into a total bear. My hands weren't reverting into paws, at least, for now. They remained in their current state, even as bear fur and fat and muscles swelled from my arms. My thin frame bulked up with fat and muscle, taking from me the tone that I had held in such high regard all this time. I was putting on hundreds of pounds, far faster than the virus brought on the changes under normal circumstances!

Unlike the viral alterations, which came in fast spurts spread out over days and weeks, these changes were consistent and gradual. My skin itched all the time, making it known that I was growing hair all over my body. The aches of muscle growth were a clear sign that I was getting bigger. I'd stopped weighing myself after the first few days, not wanting to know how much I was putting on. I had considered shaving off all the excess hair, but knowing that it would grow back kept me from bothering. Even my beard and my unwieldy hair went untouched by the changes that converted it to bear fur

It was the alterations to the rest of my body that really gave me concern, though. Excess weight and body hair, I could get away with. Claws on my toes? Not so much. With those and the new pads on the bottoms of them, I wasn't even wearing shoes anymore. I was a little concerned when my big toes stiffened, the rest of the toes shrank, and my feet took on a more ursine configuration than any hands. Did that mean my hands would revert as well?

But, it was the alterations to my face that really brought me down in despair. The ursine nose had been part of my facial features for a while now. I can't really recall what I looked like without it. I'd had it for weeks now. But, soon, it got larger, moist, pressing out of my face with the beginnings of a muzzle. My jaw ached like I'd had to go to the dentist and was on sort of anesthetic. It didn't hurt as much as I figured it should have, not with the level of changes that I was undergoing. But it was still uncomfortable to feel my jaw pressing out, so far that I could see my nose without crossing my eyes. It was disconcerting, to say the least!

The other transformations to my face came slowly after, making the sensory adaptations more difficult to grow accustomed to than the changes to my visage. Sure, my ears were rounded and had shifted slightly with the alterations to my skull. But, it was the fact that they could move in response to sounds, often of their own accord, that I found unnerving.

My vision wasn't too impaired, thankfully, though I knew bears couldn't see as well as humans. I would need glasses, but nothing too extremely drastic had changed about my visual acuity. It sucked, but it was hardly the worst thing to happen, all things considered.

It was my sense of smell that was really out of wack. At first, it made me dizzy, gave me headaches until the rest of my skull had adjusted to adapt to the increased intake in scent molecules. Worse of all, however, was that everything stank. The intensity of the odors was far too much for me, things like body odor and garbage and everything gross amplified to my nose. Though, as the days went on, I started getting used to the more pungent smells. There was always an underlying layer of interest that held my attention. It was slow going, but I was eventually able to learn from them, what smells could tell me about the world around me. It was a struggle, but I was managing.

The one bright light was that eventually, the changes seemed to be over. I wasn't going to lose my hands. I could still talk, though my voice was deeper. I didn't look like a human, more like a bear-human hybrid. But I wasn't on all fours. I had my hands, my voice. My dignity. It was more than anything I had hoped to maintain with the initial results of the virus. And that, at least, was something.

James

It took me a few days to get used to the reality that I was likely stuck in this form for the rest of my life. At least, that's what the doctors had indicated. All their tests and promises and theories seemed to be in vain if the final results were any indications. I wanted to yell at them, but whenever I tried it would come out as a bellow. So, I held my tongue. At least I could talk, but my voice wasn't the same as it had been.

Settling into my new life was not easy. I was ashamed to find out that my new diet, and the bullish smells that came with it, would be a part of me forever. No more steak for me! At least I had the option to clean myself. Showers were certainly missed as part of my stint as an animal! I had to use a fair bit of my remaining funds to have an entire custom wardrobe made for me. Worse was needing a hole in the back of my pants for my tail that made getting dressed every morning an arduous affair.

Yet, things weren't all bad, all things considered. I decided to retire, to, well, a farm. At least there I didn't have to dress up as much. I still made my way back to the old office from time to time, to meet up with my former colleagues, at least the ones that would still do business with me. Animal people were starting to become more common now that the treatments like the one used on me became widespread. I still got my fair share of looks, mind you. But it was better than being a stinking, grazing animal, let me tell you!

There were some other benefits to my form, as well, ones that I've mostly kept private. My muscles were massive, and I was stronger than anyone my age had a right to be. I was pretty sure that, even though I was old for a bull-man, I'd be a contender for the world bodybuilder competition. And my body in its current state was much healthier than it had been even in my human form. I still had many good years ahead of me, it seemed.

But, that wasn't the thing that I loved most about my body. I had a massive cock, I'm not ashamed to say, in my bull form. Never got the chance to use it in my old body, of course, other than for taking a piss. But, now, I had my hoof hands to stroke off a penis that was easily twice the size that a human's could reach. Add in my massive swinging black bull balls, and damn, I could go all evening! It was even better than masturbating as a teenager!

I didn't have an interest in women, not like I used to. Like they could take the size of the bull I was packing! It was all for me, all for my own pleasure, and I was happy to know I would have many years of bovine pleasures to keep me from Wallstreet. Hey, it wasn't the retirement hobby I had hoped for, but it was better than I could have imagined before I'd first been cursed with this damn virus!

Mark

Today was the first time that I'd really been alone since the transformation stabilized, the first privacy I'd had, other than using the bathroom. I'd been poked and prodded and had blood drawn more times in the past few days than I could count. It was almost too much of a whirlwind that I never even had the chance to come to terms with what had happened and what the rest of my life would be like.

In no uncertain terms, I was told that the bear DNA in my system was to be part of me for the rest of my life. That no matter what they tried to do, the foreign DNA created a sort of scar tissue that the virus had left inside of me. Though my current hybrid form was stable, there was no chance of me turning back to my fully human body with the current level of technology at our disposal.

After determining that I would no longer be contagious, I was allowed to leave, to get back to my life, such as it was. I wanted to take as much of my sick time as possible, needing to get used to my body.

I knew that I should have been thankful for what I did have. I was going to be able to go back to my job, at least. I mean, I was a bear-man, but there was every chance that others would follow once the treatment was widely available, and that I wouldn't be the only 'anthro' out there. It was better than being an animal, a total one, at least. I think a lot of transformation virus victims would want this treatment if given the chance. Better than to be an outcast than an outcast and an animal.

But, there was one aspect of the process that kept me curious the longer I got to ponder it. It wasn't until I got home that first time that I was able to experiment. I had some idea of what I was packing between my legs, seeing my cock each time that I went to the bathroom. But I had no way to know how large it was until I had some time to play with myself. Couldn't do that in the bathroom without raising some suspicions. But, in the comfort of my own home...

It was bigger than I could have ever expected. 12 inches erect, twice the thickness of my former human penis. I didn't think bears were that hung in the wild, but I didn't really care. I certainly was, that was for sure! It felt amazing to feel it slide from my sheath that kept it hidden even when I was naked. My balls were certainly a sufficient size to keep my erection going all night. The base was thick as fuck, an ursine knot that I had to look up to make sure was anatomically correct. My cock was more like a bear's than the hybrid form that I now possessed, but I wasn't complaining!

Soon, I would have to go back to work. I would have to get back to my life and try to see if I could keep up my fast track to the top as I had been. It would be difficult but I knew I would manage. That was what I did. Only now, I was doing it for myself, knowing that life was short and fleeting and deciding that it was something that I would do of my own violation. I would likely never have kids, a wife, and a white picket fence like my folks had always wanted for me. But, this would suffice, I think.

For now, for these few weeks, I would have to get used to my bear body. I would have to get used to the massive amount of muscles I had. I would have to get used to wearing clothes over my fur, itchy as it was. I would have to get used to walking between doors and entrances that weren't big enough for a bear-man. But, those I could manage. If it meant coming home to jerk off my massive bear cock, blowing a load all over my fur as many times as it took for me to get my rocks off. And, with how virile I was in this form, each night promised to take way more than once!