#plaguerat

Telehealth 

“Hi, this is Erin with Farland’s Outreach, please don’t think you are in any kind of trouble. Darcy was not supposed to have gone out there, in fact, he was acting against orders…”

Text message: “Can you fix him?” 

(laughs) “None of us are fixable.” 

Text message: “He died?”  

“Heaven’s no. He was overdue for inoculation, the parasite you launched at his head can be used to construct a rostral filter. We’re making him into a proper Envoy! Please tell us if you’re interested in the full works yourself so I can arrange for a consultation. In the meantime, we’ll be sending you a hat and mask so you can see how you look in them. Any more questions?” 

Text message: “What the hell is wrong with me?” 

“You are (papers shuffle) not the worst kind of afflicted, seems you get to keep most of your memories after stabilizing - ”

Text message: “I woke up with my rat snake, Charlie, imbedded in my face, like he melted into it. To say sane, I told myself I was high on something, even though I’ve never been high. I wanted to just lie there and wait for whatever it was to be over but got so thirsty I went to the kitchen for water. A rat jumped out of the mug cabinet and - joined the snake. After that, it got worse, I couldn’t breath through my nose at all.” 

“Couldn’t? That’s past tense. So you’re feeling better?” 

Text message: “The rat has nostrils in it’s shoulders now. I can breath but everything smells different.”

(audible sob over the line)

Text message: “Is this going to keep happening?”

“No, no, no, you see, the snake must have eaten a commandant of the king. The germs in this particular rat type may have compelled the snake to seek a human host, but its ability to form an acolyte could have been impaired by the fact snakes have very different anatomies than rats. The hive sensed this and merely tried again.” 

Text message: “But there’s another rat on my arm.” 

“That’s just so you can grow new parasites, like the one you launched at Darcy in self-defense. Know that the condition of new commandants can be used to access your general wellness. Ask us for more rations if your attack rats seem underweight. In short, don’t trouble yourself thinking other animals or people will adhere to you. This is strictly a rat thing with the snake included by accident. The process is complete and will not cause further mutation. Now, what exactly were you feeding Charlie?” 

Text message: “ - frozen rats in the outdoor freezer, but something’s got into it, chewed clean through it, hollowed it out and made a nest.”