Mutation
Osian bounded into the living room, hot on his father's heels. He nearly crashed into the man's back with a giggle.
"Hey! Watch where you're going there, kiddo. You've got a lot of energy today, don't ya?"
Osian hugged his dad with a large, toothy grin across his freckled face.
"Mhm! Can I go play outside with Cora and her friends? Please?" His brown eyes sparkling with glee. He loved his big sister. Cora. They were inseparable the two of them. Attached at the hip, most would say.
"Welllll...I don't knowww..." Warren drawled with a playful grin, rubbing at his goatee.
"Plleeeaaaaase?" Osian hopped up and down, nearly head butting his father in the jaw.
"Alright alright! Go on then." His dad laughed, ruffling his son's hair and giving him a little shove towards the door.
Osian sprinted towards the door, quickly putting his shoes on and running out to join his sister and her two friends. Jamie and Eddie.
"Cora!" He called out, waving his arms to get her attention.
His sister smiled brightly and motioned him over to join the three of them.
"Hey! What are you doing out here?" She asked when Osian had made his way over, pulling him into a tight hug.
"I asked dad if I could come out. Is that okay?"
"Of course it is!" Cora giggled and picked Osian up off the ground, spinning him around a couple of times. The two of them laughed until Jamie coughed awkwardly and rubbed at her arm, looking to the side.
"Cool, so, uh...can we do that thing now?"
"Hmm? Oh! Yeah. Dad hasn't used them yet so I'm sure it's fine." Cora replied, setting Osian back down on the grass.
"Huh? What thing? Cora, what thing?" Osian asked, tilting his head to the side with a furrowed brow.
"Do you remember how dad bought fireworks for the big party a while back? He didn't end up using them! Eddie said they've used some before so we thought it would be fun to light them." She grinned down at him, pure excitement in her eyes.
Osian beamed widely up at her. Fireworks! That seemed like so much fun!
Cora went and got two fireworks from the shed, setting them down on the grass before the other kids.
"I'll go ask dad for a lighter-"
"I've got one." Eddie said, producing a small metal rectangle from in their pocket.
"Oh sweet!" Jamie looked over, brushing her long hair out of her face and looking at the lighter.
Osian stood on tiptoe in his sneakers to get a better look. It was a dark grey with a lighter grey swirl. Nothing special about it really. He didn't see what the excitement was all about.
Eddie stepped forward to where the firework was and kneeled down, setting it up while clicking the lid of the lighter up and down.
"Are you sure dad said this is okay?" Osian whispered, looking up at Cora.
"Of course." She replied while tucking her long hair behind her ear.
Osian looked back towards the firework and nodded. It didn't seem like there was any harm in this. His sister was doing it so it must be okay for him as well.
Eddie lit the fuze and stepped back towards the group. They stood a good couple of feet away, eagerly waiting for the firework to fly up and burst into colors.
The only thing that burst though was their excitement as the fuze fizzled out.
"You sure this wasn't a dud?" Jamie turned to Cora with a frown, flipping her hair back out of her eyes.
"How would I know? I'm not the one who bought them." She rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips. The two girls huffed and began bickering quietly with each other.
Eddie suddenly crouched down next to Osian and pointed to the firework.
"Think you could go put that back, little man? You have to be pretty strong to carry it." They patted his shoulder and grinned.
Osian puffed out his chest and nodded. "I'm strong. I can do it."
"Good." Eddie gave him a little shove towards the firework and the young boy stumbled a bit, catching his balance with a giggle.
He marched over to where the firework was and stared down at it before Cora screeched out a "YOU WHAT!?"
Osian looked back over his shoulder to see Eddie smirking, both Jamie and Cora looking over at him and getting ready to run.
Before Osian could even understand what was happening, the firework made a hissing noise.
It wasn't a dud.
It was timed.
The firework shot up, just narrowly avoiding Osian's face but sending a spray of sparks in his direction. He yelped and fell back against the grass, immediately getting dizzy from the loud noise. It felt as if a jet engine had taken off right in front of him. His eardrums and teeth felt like they were vibrating.
Arms immediately wrapped around him, pulling him close.
"You're okay! Y-You're okay you're okay!"Cora's voice cut through the ringing as Osian sobbed against her, still covering his ears. The ringing wouldn't stop. If anything, it was getting louder. His chest felt tight.
"What the hell was that!?" Warren slammed open the back door and ran out with his wife at his side.
"W-we were playing with the fireworks and-"
"CORA RILEY I TOLD YOU THAT YOU WERE NOT ALLOWED TO TOUCH THOSE-!"
It was getting too loud. Too much noise. He couldn't get away from it-
Cora started crying too. Their parents had never been this angry before.
"HE COULD HAVE DIED!"
Silence. You could've heard a damn pin drop.
Osian's eyes were wide, looking up at his mom and dad. His father was red in the face and his mom looked equally upset.
Osian could've died.
Died.
"I-I...I could have- I would- I- w-would- h-have-" he started to hyperventilate, tugging at his ears and scratching at them.
"I'm sorry! I didn't think- I'm so sorry!" Cora sobbed, hugging Osian tighter.
He pushed her away, screaming.
"Don't touch me!"
Everything was too much. It was too loud. He was scared. His ears hurt. His heart was beating too fast. His arms felt funny-
Osian gripped at his arms, crying even louder as he doubled over, forehead touching the grass.
"Osian?!" His mother dropped to his side, reaching out for him.
"It hurts! It h-hurts! It really hurts!" He sobbed, letting out a scream as his joints popped and bones started cracking.
"Oh my god- Marnie- what?" His father's panicked voice just made it worse.
"I don't know! Warren what do I do?" His mother replied, voice trembling.
Osian lifted his head and cried out again as fur began sprouting from his hands, covering him in a dark blue-grey color as it slowly traveled up his arms.
Eddie and Jamie backed up. Jamie's eyes were wide, mouth firmly shut.
"He's a mutant!" Eddie yelled out in disgust.
Marnie's head whipped around to face the two younger teens then to Cora.
"Young lady, get your friends out of here. Now."
"But-"
"Now!"
Cora scrambled up from the grass and grabbed her friend's arms, dragging them out of the backyard by the side gate.
By now, the fur had completely covered Osian and his ears had elongated. A tail sprouted from his shorts and whipped around, nearly whacking his mother as she reached out for him again. He pressed his head against the ground again and let out a cry that turned into a low growl.
Osian blacked out.
When Osian blinked back into consciousness he was in his bedroom, but it wasn't the same. Everything was so much larger. It was like everything had scaled up while he stayed the same.
"Hey- hey, baby, you're okay. It's okay, love." His mother's voice was soft.
She was kneeled on the floor two feet away, holding out her hand palm up towards him. She was so much taller than he remembered.
Osian pressed himself further against the wall. Why was everything so big? What even happened? How did he get to his room?
His eyes darted around before he landed on the full length mirror next to his bed. He froze.
That's not me. He thought, heart speeding up again. That can't be me. That's not me-
The creature that stared back at him was on all fours. It was small and covered in fur. The same fur that had sprouted from his hands earlier. Mismatched eyes darted all around. What was once a deep brown, was now yellow and blue.
He blinked and so did the creature.
His eyes darted back to his mother who looked at him with a sad smile.
"I know, baby. I know you're scared, but it's okay. You're okay, yeah? Just come here." She spoke soothingly, motioning for Osian to come towards her.
Hesitantly, the mutant stepped forward before rushing forward and collapsing into his mother's arms, letting out distressed, animalistic cries.
"Shhh...shhhshhh... it's alright. We're here okay? Mama and Papa are here..."
His father kneeled down beside them both, wrapping an arm around his wife and using his free hand to gently pet the top of Osian's head.
"You're okay, kiddo. You're okay."