“I don’t want it.”
Nell turned to face her, surprised. “What do you mean? You love these things!”
Jane wasn’t sure what her friend meant by that, and squinted in confusion. Nell sighed, and carefully put the object down on the counter. “You don’t remember, do you?”
Jane shook her head. “I’ve never seen one of those in my entire life, Nell. What the hell is that?” She looked at the object warily, as if it might jump out and bite her. It didn’t. The object in question was an odd blue lump, about the size of her fist. Its surface was marked with rounded bumps, which stuck out an inch or two each. To Jane, it looked like some sort of alien fruit.
Nell leaned in, speaking softly to reassure their friend. “Jane. It’s not going to hurt you. Touch it, you’ll remember.”
Jane wasn’t sure if she could trust the strange thing, and looked Nell in the eye— testing their honesty. They nodded reassuringly. Jane sighed, and approached the counter, her hand hovering uncertainly towards the lump. She pulled it back slightly, thinking about what could go wrong-- what if it ate her? No. Nell touched it safely. It was fine, she’d be fine.
The tips of her fingers brushed its surface. It was warm to the touch, and it seemed to vibrate softly, as if it were alive. Slowly, Jane rested more of her hand on the object, wrapping her fingers around it in order to pick it up. In response— it suddenly changed form. The rounded bumps on its surface transformed into sharp spines, which pricked her skin. Panicking, Jane drew her hand back— causing it to fall off the counter and onto the floor with a dull, wet thud— its shell shattering and sending viscous white fluid all over the recently cleaned tile. Pieces of its shell appeared to vibrate wildly for a brief few seconds, before finally slowing to a halt.
She stared in stunned silence for a moment, was the thing alive? Had she killed it? She gave a look of both concern and confusion to Nell, hoping for answers.
Nell kept staring at the mess. “Jane.” They said quietly. “That was a man.”
