The smiling woman faded away into static. Her mouth moved, but her words were drowned out by the buzzing as it grew louder and louder...

Clutching my ear, I groaned and rolled out of bed. I tried to shout, to stand up and reach for the doorknob, but another wave of buzzing flooded from my brain and into my limbs, snuffing out my voice and forcing me to my knees.

Ever since they came, it's been getting stronger.

Ever since that night.

Ever since they took me.

I remember that woman. She'd smile, but her eyes weren't human.

She'd smile as they strapped me to the table.

She'd smile as their tools drilled into my body, as they cut through my flesh and put their machines inside me.

She'd smile as I screamed, as I cried and begged and pleaded with them to let me go.

And then, when they were done, when I was lying in a puddle of my own blood and vomit, she'd speak.

She'd tell me that I had been lost all my life, that I didn't belong on Earth.

That I'd been excluded, made fun of and bullied all my life not because I was weird, but because they were afraid.

That I was special, that the other humans had noticed and felt jealous.

That I had been lost, but now, they'd found me.

That I was special, and they would show me.

Ever since that night, since that dream, it's been growing inside me.

It started small.

At first, I became a little more sensitive to smells and sounds. I could tell when it would rain a day in advance, and I could pick my name out of a conversation across a crowded room.

Then, it kept spreading.

I stopped needing my glasses, and my body started getting fitter. I used to be the worst in gym class, but suddenly, I could run faster, jump higher, lift more. The others, especially the jocks, got suspicious. They've been asking me for my secret, but I didn't tell them anything. I wouldn't know what to tell them, anyway.

I thought I'd just keep growing stronger forever, but things got strange.

My eyes used to be dark brown, but now, every time I look in the mirror, I could swear they're becoming paler every day. I've stopped looking people in the eyes, and so far, nobody has noticed.

But it's getting worse. I noticed these weird black spots on my chest and stomach when I showered yesterday. I can hide them with a shirt just fine, but what if more appear? What if they spread all over me? What if they appear on my arms and legs and face?

My fingernails are growing faster, too. I cut them every day, but they always grow back, and I feel like they're getting pointier every time.

Right now, with the buzzing in my ear, I feel it happening. I'm changing, transforming, growing. Into what, I don't know.

But I know she'll be back. Soon, I'll fall asleep again, and the woman will come back. She'll smile, and she'll tell me how strong and special and beautiful I am, and she'll tell me that I am almost complete.

I feel it.

The machine is inside my brain, buzzing, and my brain is buzzing back. Responding, rewiring, rebuilding, reconstructing itself and my body.

I'm changing.

I'm special.

I'm becoming a monster.

I'm almost complete.

I'm a freak.

I'm still far from being done.

I'm beautiful.

I'm losing myself.

I'm being made better.

I'm lost.

I'm found.

I'm becoming something else.

I'm becoming myself at last.

I'm special.

I'm growing.

I'm special.