Andrew McKenzie is a junior in highschool when a strange incident sweeps the world. In the aftermath Andrew is left confused and unsure what's happening to him as he slowly begins to notice changes. How we he and his family find the silver lining?

It was early afternoon and finally I’d finished the last of the tests I had gone through the previous few days. For the second day in a row there were no visible changes in my body, but now we were waiting to see what the doctors had to say. They had promised to rush the results as fast as they could and try to get me out of here today. It was getting late though and I was starting to worry.

“You don’t think they’ll keep me overnight again?” I asked my mother was we waited.

“I hope not hun. Doctor foster said you could leave today if all the tests came back without changes. I think they're just making sure. None of them wants your health at risk.” I was so ready to leave I couldn’t sit still and paced the room.

“I have to pee again I announced and headed for the bathroom.” I was nervous and being forced to wait for news was making me have pee more often. I wondered if that was a girl thing? Having to handle my new body parts to pee didn’t help though. It only made me more anxious.

“Well why don’t you take the clothes your sister brought for you, and put them on? That way you’ll be ready to go when they release you.” My mother suggested, and as eager as I was to leave I agreed and took the bundle from my sister.

It still felt weird just using the bathroom. All the feelings were in different places, and after 16 years of standing even sitting felt weird. After I finished I stared at the clothes a bit intimidated. I’d been wearing a panties and during the day a bra for the last couple of days now but this was different. These clothes wouldn’t be hidden. It wasn’t like they were anything extremely girly just a pair of my sisters pajama bottoms and a t-shirt, but they were clothing made for a girl.

I took a breath and slide them on. The light blue bottoms with white clouds and yellow moons covering them were comfy enough as I tied them at the waist, but the top felt tight. It was just a white t-shirt but it clung to my new body. I was used to t-shirts being loose this was not, and it showed off some of my new curves making me a bit uncomfortable.

Despite my reservations I had a lack of options. None of my old stuff fit me anymore so it was either wear what my sister brought or go home holding up the now baggy clothes I wore when I came in. I waded up the hospital gown I had been wearing thankful at least to be out of that and returned to my mother and sister.

“Well those don’t fit too bad.” My mother commented. “We’ll have to go get you some clothes of your own, but for now I think you can make due borrowing simple stuff from your sister.” I nodded and tosses the gown on the bed.

“Her hips are a bit wider than mine, but she should fit into my sweats and stuff.” My sister added as she looked me over. “When we get home I'll give you a couple of things.”
I sat back on the edge of the bed not wanting to lay down again. I was too eager to go and felt as if I would run out the door as soon as I heard I could. We were all making a list of things that had to be done after I got home finally. The first step had already been taken care of.

“Once we get your new birth certificate and records we can get you a new driver’s license. They also suggested just having you get a new one all together instead of getting your old one changed. He said it’d be faster and there would be less questions,” I nodded. It made sense and the less questions I had to answer the happier I would be.

My mother had stayed behind today while I was going through my testing, and while I was gone she had contacted some people in the government Doctor Phillips had put her in contact with. A group had been put together for the 7 victims of the cloud and they were working on adjusting all records related to us. We were all getting new birth certificates showing our new genders along with other pertinent records.

“Does that mean I’ll have to take the test again.” I asked a bit worried. I had barely passed the first time and I wasn’t sure I could do it again.

“Yes it does and maybe if you do better this time I’ll actually think about getting you your own car.” I cringed at the thought, but after a few months of driving to and from school with my mother maybe I was a bit more prepared this time.

Another hour passed and I started worrying that I wasn’t going to be leaving today, but my heart raced as a knock finally came at the door. It was Doctor Foster and Phillips finally and this time they were accompanied by Mr. Tillman the head of the hospital.

“I’m sorry it took so long I know you’re all anxious to take Andrew..” Doctor Phillip paused hearing his mistake.

“It’s ok Doctor at some point we’ve all slipped and used Alexis’ old name today. It’s still new.” My mother told him trying to reassure him he hadn’t done anything her or my sister hadn't done a few times already.

“Well I’m still sorry. Anyway as I was saying we know you’re all ready to leave. The good news is none of the tests show any change so at this point I don’t think we need to keep...Alexis here any longer.” I smiled happy to finally be able to leave and at the fact Doctor Phillips had paused to make sure her used the right name. “However, we would like to see her again at some point soon just to make sure nothing new presents itself, and if anything noticeable happens you should contact us at once.”

“Of course Doctor I have all your information as well as Doctor Foster’s. If anything comes up we’ll be sure to contact you.” My mother said reassuring the doctors.

“Good. I want to say again how impressed we are with how you’ve handled this Alexis. You are very strong and I truly hope you never have to go through anything like this again.” Shaking my hand Doctor Phillips and Doctor Foster said their goodbyes to all of us and I was finally free.

“Mrs. McKenzie there is a large crowd of reporters outside and I assume you don’t wish your daughter talk with them just yet?” Mr. Tillman asked as we all started grabbing our stuff.

“No not yet.” My mother told him shaking her head.

“I didn’t believe so. What I propose then is you bring your car to our loading docks under ground. We’ll bring Alexis down through the service corridor and you can leave from there. We have had our security keep the press away from the road leaving the hospital so you shouldn’t have any trouble. How ever just to be safe a couple of our employees have volunteered to leave the grounds at the same time as you in their own vehicles.” I was impressed he had really thought this out.

“With any luck the reporters will assume you are just hospital employees leaving after work. Being as late as it is it’ll be hard for them to see who’s in the vehicles anyway. If you’d like to bring your car around to the west end of the hospital this sticker will let you pass the guards and access our employee parking near the loading docks.” Handing my mother a sticker she handed it to my sister and Amanda left to get the car.

“If you’ll both follow me I’ll take you down to the docks personally.” With that it was time to finally leave the hospital. Following Mr. Tillman the two security guards that had been outside my room joined us and we head down to meet my sister.

When we reached the docks I couldn’t help but thank the two employees who would be leaving with us and the guards. It wasn’t long before Amanda pulled up in my mother’s Mercedes. I let out a long sigh as I climbed in the back and my mother took the driver’s seat from my sister. Just being out of the hospital I already felt better.

As we left the garage with the other two cars and made it around to the front of the hospital I was shocked by the media presence. My sister had said there were a lot of reports outside but somehow I didn’t think it was going to be as many as there were. I slumped over in the back seat so it didn’t look weird having three people leave in the same car. In the end though there was nothing to worry about and we zoomed right through before heading home.

“You girls want stop for something to take home for dinner?” I was hungry but I really wanted to get home.

“Can we just order some Chinese when we get home mom?” I sat back up and watched as the town sped by. My mother nodded and my sister agreed. She loved Chinese so I knew that would be an easy sell.

I took a deep breath as I stepped out of my mom’s car. It had been a while since I had been outside and it felt good. There was a chill in the air fall was here now and I shivered a bit. Everything looked so beautiful as I looked around our yard. My house seemed welcoming and it was enough to make me tear up.

“Oh honey what’s wrong?” My mother asked as she wrapped an arm around me. I shook my head and wiped my eyes.

“Nothing I’m just glad to see to be home. I’m not sure why I’m crying.” My mother smiled and hugged me a bit tighter.

“Well honey a woman tends to show her emotions a bit easier than men do. I think you’ll learn that’s not a bad thing though. Now let's get you inside before you end up back in the hospital with a cold. Those pajama bottoms are thin and you’re shivering like crazy.” My mother said walking me to the house.

I used to hate the floral smell my mother and sister would fill our house with, but walking through the door it smelt like home. All those scented candle and sprays just made it smell so good. I wasn’t sure if it was because of something that had changed in more or just missing home, but either way I loved it. “Why don't you go relax in the living room hun your sister and I will take care of this stuff.” My mother suggested as she headed upstairs.

I nodded and made my way to the couch in front of the TV, and Collapsing on it I made a loud sigh of relief. I kicked off my huge snickers and then took off a couple pairs of socks I had been forced to wear to keep them from falling off my feet. I’d have to get some new shoes too at some point. None of my old ones would ever fit my small feet now.

It was nice relax and not be the one lugging stuff from the hospital upstairs. Normally anytime something needed to be lifted or carried I was always volunteered, but now I was betting my mother and sister were probably stronger than I was. Finding simple things like that kept me going now. I knew I had to focus on the upside things or I’d lose it.

There wasn’t much on TV so again I ended up searching the news channels to see what was being reported. Thankfully it seemed Susan Lopez was living up to her end of the deal, and as long as no one else threatened to beat her to the punch I hoped she continued to do so. “Anything new? Amanda asked as she joined me on the couch.

“Doesn’t seem like it. You’d think the would have at least found where the cloud came from by now?” I said as the should a map of the area where it had originated.

“Everyone has their theories at school. I’ve heard everything from aliens to nanites gone rogue developed by Japan. What do you think?” She asked giving me a look like I had some special insight.

“I have no idea. It’s certainly beyond anything humans are capable of right now according to the doctors at the hospital, but who’s to say Japan has always been ahead of us on the technologies front. As far as I know either could be true.” I took a deep breath thinking about it and wondering if I'd ever know why this happened to me.

“Alright diner is ordered what are my girls doing?” Mom joined us in the living room taking a seat in the chair beside the couch.

“Not much just talking about what might have made the cloud.” Amanda answered before I could. It was certain somethings would never change and Amanda talking faster than me was one.

“Whatever it was I hope they get whoever was behind it.” It was the first time I had heard my mother sound vengeful and the look in her eyes made it clear she was serious. Her feelings surprised me a bit. From the way she seemed to like me being a girl I would have though maybe she would be grateful this had happened to me. I knew now that she wasn’t.

My mother may like having another daughter now but she didn’t like the way it happened. I wondered how she we deal with it if I chose to not stay a girl. So far I hadn’t made up my mind everything was still too new and I told her I would give things a chance, but being a girl was already very different. I just didn’t know if I could handle it.

After a little TV dinner arrived (and other than the pizza Amanda had brought a couple of days ago) this was my first meal outside the hospital since everything began. It was so incredible the tastes just seemed so new. Whatever had been done to me it seemed like it had changed everything. My tastes, the way things smelt to me, even colors. Everything seemed to taste better, smelt nicer, and pop in such beautiful ways I was hard to describe.

After we finished eating mom had me clear the table. Apparently my new situation didn’t get me out of all household duties. I loaded the dishwasher and threw the empty Chinese containers in the trash before grabbing a drink and heading up to my room. I need some personal time now and I hadn’t been in my own room in days.

It was just as I had left it before going to school on Monday, but everything seemed different. I was still adjusting to my new size but it wasn’t just that. The smell was weird to me like someone else had been living there, and the colors were just so flat. Most the stuff I had was either gray or black and that just seemed strange now. Don’t get me wrong it still felt good to be back but it felt a little like this was someone else’s room now.

I wanted to get my mind off of it so I started up my computer. I had built it myself and it was a beast of a gaming machine. It’d been 5 days since I last played a video game and despite other things changing I still enjoyed that at least. Starting up a first person shooter I often played. I paused for a second looking at my screen name DrewKills98.

I wondered if any of the people from school I normally played with were on. I could use my normal name if they were. They’d join my games and then their would be question once they heard my new voice. Quickly I went to create a new a new screen name and paused. What do I call myself now?

I started going through new names for, and for the second day in a row I had to pick something new to call myself. It took me almost an hour to decide on one. I had searched for ideas and combined this with that until I finally settled on SirensCall. It fit my mood well. I liked the idea of my voice drawing people to their doom. Suckering them in before they were destroyed by a deadly creature with.

With my new name created I put on my headset and went looking for matches. Because of the new account I was fairly low ranked so my early games we easy and people didn’t do much talking. As I ranked up though more and more people would start communicating. I was nervous at first to say much but eventually I started speaking back to people. The reaction was what I expected. There was a lot of people surprised I was a girl play despite my screen name, and there was a lot of people making fun of others when I killed them.

As time passed I began to forget and even enjoy when someone was taunted for being killed by the girl. I quickly learned to mute the perverts that started begging to team up or for my number as soon as they heard my voice. I was having fun and it was nice to find out I could still be a gamer even as a girl.

After creating some new accounts in other games I had similar experiences there but for the most part all of it was enjoyable. I had been going for a while though and my eyes were starting to hurt so I decided to call it quits for the night. When I shut down the game I noticed in my messenger that Ryan was online. Curiosity got the best of me.

“Hey.” I typed and then debated on whether to send it or not for a moment before finally getting the courage.

“Hey! are you home from the hospital?” He replied quickly, and I wondered what he knew or had heard.

I decided it was best to keep it short so I thought about my reply. “Yeah I just got home. Anything happen in school this week?”

“You mean other then everyone in our class being tested by the CDC? Everyone is talking about you. Is what the news said was happening to you true?” he asked and suddenly I realized I wasn’t up to this. I wasn’t ready to tell people who knew me before what had changed now.

“Listen I’m sorry you all got tested. I have to go.” I replied and then closed the messenger before he could say anymore. So the CDC had tested my whole class? I guess that made sense they were all close to someone who’d been infected. I wondered why that hadn’t been reported on the news.

Just as I was closing down my computer there was a knock at the door. “Alexis it’s mom can I come in?

“Sure.” I said loudly and walked over unlocking my door. My mother looked like she was ready for bed as I sat down on mine and she join me.

Wrapping an arm around me I leaned into her and smiled. “Doing alright?” I nodded. “Good I wanted to talk with you about something. I know it’s soon but I think we need to go shopping for your tomorrow. You have to have some new clothes and you can’t just borrow them from your sister.”

I squirmed. The idea of going out in public so soon was a bit scary. “Listen I know this is big but we want to do as much as we can before you do your interview. Right now no one will know who you are. You’ll be just another girl to them.” She added and as I thought about it I agreed. Right now I was just another face in the crowds, but after I did the interview more people would know who I was and what had happened to me.

“Alright I guess so.” I finally agreed and she squeezed me a bit tighter.

“That’s my girl we’ll go when the mall opens in the morning so maybe there won’t be as many people there. If anyone asks why we a getting you so much will just tell them you had a growth spurt. It’s kind of true.” My mother laughed and then gave me a kiss on the forehead before heading off to bed.

I stared at the walls in my room and thought about tomorrow. I didn’t know why but I was excited a little on top of the nerves. I never enjoyed shopping I had always been the in and out type, but going with my mother tomorrow i was more into the idea then i had ever been.

Every Time I noticed something new about myself it was weird and made it feel like I was a very different person now. Had that cloud affected more than my body? Was I still Andrew inside? I couldn’t answer either question yet, and I honestly didn’t know if I ever would be able to.

It was late now though and I was tired so I finally decided to crash for the night. After using the bathroom I striped down to my panties and threw on one of my old t-shirts to sleep in. It was baggy but good enough for a night shirt so I climbed into bed and laid there in the dark. I felt tiny in my old bed now but it was much better then the hospital I'd been in the past week.

My mind wandered all over the place. I had a lot to deal with over the coming week but I decided starting tomorrow I'd take it one day at a time. My life was my own and though I didn’t know where it would end up now I knew where it would begin tomorrow. In my bed at home finally.