The last patient of the day left just before Brian’s cell phone rang. The therapist smiled when he saw Marco’s name on his phone’s display. Maybe he was calling to confirm the reservation for their twentieth anniversary. Both knew that posh restaurant was always full, and they were on the waiting list for months. It’d be a nice gift for that lovely night.
His smile faded when he recognized Susan’s voice over the phone. She was a close friend of the couple and one of Marco’s coworkers. When she said something happened to Marco and he should come to Regal Chemicals as soon as possible, Brian almost dropped the phone. He had many questions to ask, but Susan said he’d better get those answers in person.
Brian drove to the Regal Chemicals facility as fast as he could. The large building was full of offices, warehouses, laboratories and never-ending activity. They let him in, as Susan had already told security he was coming. Leaving the parking lot, Brian made his way to the main hall, where Susan was already waiting for him.
“Where is Marco?” Brian asked, visibly nervous. “Is he OK?”
“They didn’t let me see Marco after they took him to one of the warehouses,” Susan explained, as both made their way to that place.
“A warehouse? Why?”
“You’ll see it. They’ll let you in. You aren’t just his husband, but also his therapist, right?”
It was true. Brian was Marco’s therapist for long, even before they started dating and got married. He remembered Marco, twenty-seven years old back then, needing help for his anxiety at work, and how they dealt with that together. And after twenty years of work, care and love, it might be back. But Brian needed more details, and hoped they’d let them in the warehouse, like Susan said.
Outside the warehouse, they found two men in lab coats discussing something, as well as some security guards. Brian didn’t understand anything. A warehouse and security forces? Susan spoke to them, and after a tense while, they nodded. One of the security guards opened the door and showed the way to Brian. Susan followed them.
It was all dark, with only a few dim lights, but it was enough for Brian to see what was going on. Among the crates and containers, he could see what appeared to be a long shadow. It moved with heavy steps, avoiding the light. Brian shook his head, thinking his brain was tricking him due to his worry for Marco. And from the looks of both Susan and the guard, they knew something he didn’t.
“Marco?”
Brian kept looking for his husband and watched how the large shadow moved again, avoiding them. He kept calling for Marco despite feeling uneasy with whatever was lurking in the darkness. Finding his husband in that enormous site was his priority, not some elusive, unknown entity.
The shadow revealed itself at last, and Brian gasped at what he saw.
Marco was wearing what remained of his shirt and trousers all over his enlarged body, and nothing else. Brian looked up and down and guessed Marco was standing at about ten feet tall. Four feet taller than he used to be. He looked at Susan and the guard, and back to Marco. His husband looked terribly ashamed and in the dim light his eyes looked red. Brian knew he had been crying until that very moment.
“Hi… Brian,” Marco finally said, his voice sounding a bit gruffer than usual. “I’m… glad you’re here.”
“Marco gave me his phone and told me to call you as they were dragging him into this place,” Susan explained. “He also told me not to give any details. Sorry.”
“No need to apologize,” Brian replied, and stared at Marco, still trying to believe what he was watching. “Just tell me what happened.”
When Marco was going to answer, Brian noticed something on his husband’s face. He was in extreme pain, and suddenly Marco’s body convulsed. They could hear the ripping of clothing, as pieces of the shirt and trousers fell to the ground while Marco screamed. And he grew, to Brian’s further disbelief. Marco was double the size he had been a minute ago.
Brian turned to both Susan and the guard. “We need help here!”
“We tried before, Brian!” Susan yelled back. “What else can…?”
“Anything! Even some analgesics! We can’t be here doing nothing!”
“What about…?”
“You said I’m his therapist. And that’s right! You people deal with his body while I do the same with his mental health. But please, hurry!”
Susan was going to reply once more but chose not to. She looked at the guard, who frowned. In the end, both left, Susan promising they’d try something, even if she didn’t know what exactly. Brian thanked her.
Marco knelt, wriggling in pain, breathing heavily. But he could still look into Brian’s eyes.
“Is it over?”
Marco nodded.
“Tell me… what happened?”
“I… I was… checking one of the containers. Maintenance, measuring and all, my job, you know. There was a system malfunction, that container opened on me and…”
Marco felt something moving inside him and covered his mouth. After five minutes of muffled cries and more convulsions that looked like an eternity, he kept going:
“All… Damn… All those chemicals bathed me. It was some experimental shit… and it was all over me…”
Brian got closer to Marco as the now giant man sat down, each movement feeling heavy and painful. It was clear he had grown again. His shirt and trousers were nothing but torn pieces on the ground. The giant was completely naked and didn’t seem to care.
How tall was Marco now? Forty, fifty feet? Even more? And was there a pattern for this growth? Could anyone find that out or at least ease the pain? Because every time that happened, it hurt a lot. Brian saw the sweat pearls and tears on Marco’s face. How long could he endure until he got the proper help for his aching body?
Until then, Brian would have to do his part, like he already told Susan. It was about time.
“Keep breathing, dear. Slow and steady.”
Marco followed his command. It took about fifteen minutes for that simple exercise, until Brian could be sure Marco was a bit more relaxed. At that size, he could even hear Marco’s heartbeats, still fast, but slowing down with every minute.
“Better now?”
Marco nodded and sobbed. “I’m really glad you’re here, Brian.”
“I know you are…” Brian put a hand on the large thigh and smiled. “May I have a closer look?”
Even with his shaky hands, Marco helped Brian. The smaller man felt so light. Marco took him closer to his face, so they could speak at the same level. A timid smile appeared, trying to replicate Brian’s wider one.
“We can do this together,” started Brian. “You know I’ll be by your side.”
Marco hesitated before replying, his eyes again in tears: “You will. But what about others? I’m a monster now! Look at me, I’m a freak show!”
“You aren’t, and never will.” Brian knelt and caressed the giant palm with his own fingers, so miniscule in comparison, always keeping eye contact with his husband. “You are the very same man I’ve treated, the man I love and married, the man who’s been working here his whole life. Nothing has changed.”
“My size did! And it won’t stop!” As he spoke, Marco cried even more. “I’m afraid, Brian! I’m no longer human! They locked me in here!”
“A grave mistake…”
And a realization came to Marco’s mind, and he had to verbalize it: “What if…? What if they do horrible things to me?”
“Who?”
“Them! My colleagues. They want to know what happened with those chemicals and my body. I’ll become a giant Guinea Pig! Testing, experiments, and who knows what else… Who would be friends with a monstrosity?!”
“Hush… Don’t stress yourself. They won’t harm you. They will help you, like I’m doing now. I just need you to speak, to let everything out. You know… like when we first met.”
Those words brought a lot of memories back. Marco recalled the first time in Brian’s office, speaking of his anxiety to the therapist his union representative spoke of. All those exercises to vent and release all the stress. All the conversations. All the confessions. Two years of therapy before they started dating. Brian had always been there, fighting alongside him against anything that would break his mind, even when he thought it was over.
Marco could trust Brian. That gave him some peace.
“Take another good breath,” Brian advised.
Marco did so. And repeated the exercise several times, he didn’t need Brian to tell him. It was like he used to. He could feel it, a calm sensation taking control of his body, easing the pain of his bones and muscles, even if it was temporary.
And he spoke:
“I told you, I’m afraid. I don’t want to lose my humanity. I want this pain to stop.”
“They’ll find a way. Believe me. They’ll figure out how to counter this.”
“But… I don’t know if I’ll ever be back to normal, and I’m afraid of that too! I’ll be a freak for the rest of my life. People will point at me. They’ll be horrified.”
“It will be shocking at first,” Brian replied. “We all are shocked at novelty because we aren’t used to it. Give them time. They will understand.”
“They will?”
Brian nodded. “Marco, nothing will change if you stay like this. And I ask you: if that’s so, how do you think we should manage that? Take your time to answer.”
That was a question Marco wasn’t ready for. His husband would never stop loving him, no matter his size. Was he going to let Brian down? Was he strong enough?
A couple of minutes later, he finally answered:
“I don’t know… Guess…” He stopped for a second. “Guess we’d have to move a bigger house, maybe?”
“Good! I was thinking our home was getting a bit too small.”
“It is,” Marco’s tone had now a bit of joy that wasn’t there before and he noticed it. “Oh, and I’m still taller than you.”
Both chuckled. Brian could feel that Marco’s hand shook a bit, which meant he was growing again, yet if Marco was in pain, the giant didn’t show it. They kept talking, knowing it was the best way to deal with the situation.
“I think I should get a rise… and a compensation… big ones.”
Marco’s joke was followed by more laughter. They kept talking, making plans for what would be next in their lives. They were so joyful that even when Marco grew again, it didn’t hurt at all. His brain was so focused on planning that he forgot about it and didn’t mind that Brian was looking smaller and smaller in his hands.
And hour later, a team had established an improvised laboratory in the warehouse. They were surprised by how relaxed Marco looked.
Brian stayed for the night, as the first tests confirmed that Marco had hit the sixty feet mark. They would have to run further tests in case they could determine his growth’s pattern, or how long it would last. One thing was for sure: even when he felt growing a few inches, it didn’t hurt anymore. Maybe it was slowing down, maybe he was getting used to it, but Marco knew for sure that speaking with Brian had been the best medicine for that.
And there was something else to do.
“I almost forgot… Happy anniversary, my dear” the giant said.
Everyone was now staring at Brian, who blushed at that show of public affection.
“Happy anniversary to you too.”
And many would come after that one.