I woke up.

***

What's this buzzing in my ears? And man, my eyes sting. I try to open them, but try as I might, I cannot manage to get in more than a sliver of light before the burning of my eyes forces me to keep them shut tight.

My mind is foggy. I cannot remember how I got here or even who I am.. What's going on?

Time to take in all other senses.

The buzzing in my ears slowly fades and is replaced by silence. Okay, so I am in a quiet... room? Area? Place? Who knows.

My back hurts. I am laying on a floor, I think.

I lick my lips. Dry. What's the last time I had something to drink? I suddenly notice that my throat feels as dry as parchment. I'd kill for a glass of water right now.

***

I try to open my eyes again. They still hurt as hell, but I manage to open them just for a second. As I close them again and groan in pain, I think about what I saw.

A room, barely lit. Simple, no furnishings. Someone standing in the corner.

Wait a second, I'm not alone!

"Huuuuhhh..." I moan. What I was trying to say was, 'Help me!", but I guess this will have to do.

I hear footsteps approaching.

"Who.. Thhhh...?" I say. Ah, my sentences are getting more coherent! I must be slowly getting out from whatever state I was in.

No answer.

I get up. Painfully, I step forward, holding onto the wall to my right. My head throbs, my mouth is parched, and I feel like I've been running.

The footsteps stop.

"Lay down, you fool. You shouldn't be getting up!" a voice in front of me says. It's a female voice, young, maybe 20 or 30 years old? I can't be sure.

"Whhhhh..." I moan again like a fool. Why can I think straight, but sound like a zombie from Walking Dead? On the other hand... If I could think straight, I'd know where I am and, more importantly, who I am.

I try to open my eyes again. For a second, I see a silhouette in front of me. The girl, I presume.

Then, my head bursts open. At least, it feels like it.

I drop to the floor and moan in pain, clutching my head between my hands.

"See? You're an idiot for getting up so fast. You cannot expect to be eaten alive and not have any repercussions. Lay down, now."

I feel hands lift up my head and, when they let go again, my head rests on something soft. A pillow, I guess.

My last thought before I my mind drifts back to sleep;

'eaten alive...?'

***

I wake up.

Again.

This time, I am immediately conscious of my surroundings. For a moment, everything is silent and dark. Then, faint sounds reach me. Footsteps, doors opening and closing, voices speaking indistinctly.

"John" a female voice says. This one is different from the one before. Deeper, and sweeter somehow.

I listen quietly with my eyes closed. Maybe I can learn something from the conversation between the voice and this person called John.

"Hey John, drink some water."

I suddenly feel a hand lift up my head again and what feels like a cup against my lips. And cool water. Instinctively, I open my mouth and start drinking. Fast. My god, I feel thirsty.

And I guess my name is John.

"Not too fast, you don't want to throw it all up again." the voice says. She is close, probably the one holding my head and feeding me water.

She continues, "That's much better. Now, let me see, where were we?"

"On my way to the station, I would guess," another voice says. One deeper, older, but clearly male. I recognise his voice.

I drink more water. It flows through my mouth and down my throat like water from a cold mountain stream.

The elder of the two voices says, "Yes, that was her... Wait, that's not quite right..." He then pauses briefly, as if thinking.

"She had poor John here wrapped around her like a goddamn ring on her finger. It was clear to me that he was completely voretivated. I only had a second to realise this and place the tracker on him. I don't think she realised what I did or who I was, but she did see me. I had to bump into him by accident and apologise to get him tagged."

"That's how you extracted him then?" the female voice next to me said.

"It is." the male voice replied after another brief pause.

"Risky, Oak, very risky. You did not have to do that. And I don't think you should've."

"The tracker or extracting him?"

"Both."

They both continue their discussion, but it is too low for me to catch most of the words. That leaves me nothing to do but drink more water.

The cup is empty now. I don't have the energy to ask for more, even though I feel like I could drain a swimming pool.

Another loud noise reaches me and, a moment later, I hear someone else entering the room. Try as I might, I cannot stay awake to hear more though. My mind has had enough and is forcing me back to sleep.

***

I have a sex dream. The girl is gorgeous, way out of my league to be honest. But hey, who cares when it's just me and my mind having some fun?

The dream turns into a nightmare. The girl is enormous and wants to eat me alive. I try to run, I try everything I can, but she swallows me like a pill.

I slide down her throat and panic. Everything is dark and humid. I can't escape!

Help!

***

I wake up, still on the floor. Sweat covers my body from head to toe.

More voices. Two of them. Not as soft as before, but also sounding less angry or agitated.

"...you know, I heard about that stuff back in the day. Is it true that those people actually tried it?" the first voice says.

"So far, I've heard nothing but negative rumours. From what I understand, one of their few successes was with a mole rat that was already well-known to have vore tendencies. It ate its master while the rest of the team was still able to fight back."

I groan. My muscles hurt, and I'm so hot that I try to get cool by taking my clothes off.

"Hey, John's awake." the female voice says.

I feel a hand on my forehead. It feel cool compared to my hot, sweaty face. I don't want it to go anywhere, but it only touched me for a moment before its owner pulls it away again.

"He has a fever. Not sure how high, but it feels high. He's burning up. I'm not sure if you did him a favour by extracting him, Oak. If he dies here, he'll have endured two painful deaths instead of just one."

"Maybe, but I'd rather see him go back than have him suffer like that any longer."

There's a third voice, a new one. Another woman this time, judging by her voice. "We need to move quickly. We don't have much time left before we lose him. Are you sure that there is a tracking device on him, Oak?"

"Don't worry. I took care of that . All the precautions were taken to make sure I don't lose track of him."

"Then it's time to oscillize. Either that, or he will die." the unknown woman says.

I try to open my eyes. I don't understand half of the words said, but I don't like the sound of either dying or oscillizing, whatever the hell that might be. Then again, maybe it's just my fever that's making me hear strange words.

"Please..." I manage to croak. My throat is still dry and I can still barely speak.

All three people stop talking for a second.

"Did you hear that? There's something wrong with his lungs." the male voice says, after a short pause.

"Foul air, Oak. Not surprising given what he went through over the past few days. Damn, these people have to be dead or close to it before we can extract them."

A woman near my head holds up a finger. "Wait one second."

From somewhere nearby I hear the hum of electricity, almost as though someone switched on the power.

Cool air washes over my face. A wet cloth is placed on top of my head.

"What are you doing, Ava? You can't just waste those on him!" the second female voice says.

"We have to try though, whatever the cost. He will be of use to our cause, Mia." I hear the voice belonging to the woman apparently called Ava say.

So, we have two women called Ava and Mia here, and a man named Oak. I still don't know who they are, what I am doing here, or who I am; but it's something, at least.

I feel warmth begin to spread throughout my body. I let it happen, hoping I can keep my sanity together until things look up.

***

I dream about flashing lights, about feeling my entire body broken down into its atoms and being reassembled.

I am not me, I am the universe. The universe is me. But then who am I?

God, this fever is making me lose my mind.

All I hear during this nightmare is, "Oscillization, oscillize, oscillizing!"

***

Whether I want to or not, I am still alive. How lucky is that?

If I thought I was hallucinating before, now it is complete insanity. I feel weird. Numb to be precise. Like an emotionless robot. An android with the equivalent intelligence of a toddler. The kind which cannot really think.

I hear a voice. A new voice. It's also female, but incredibly loud.

"Oh hey little John. That's amazing, you're still alive!" the voice says.

I open my eyes. Although my mind is in shambles and I am reminded again of how little I understand of what's happening to me, my body feels better. Much better.

I am on the floor looking up. An enormous face stares right back at me. It's a woman. Or rather, a giantess. It's terrifying because she's so huge, but she's also beautiful beyond belief. Her blond hair flowed from a bun behind her head like a mane as if it were on fire...

I then realise something. That voice, that overwhelming strength from its tone. Could it be...?

"Hello, John," the female giant says. I think I recognise her, though I don't know why. "I hope you're in good shape."

I ask her. "Who are you?"

"Who am I? Oh come on, don't play games with me John."

"Is that—are you—"

"Honey, I am Aphrodite, the original. The perfect being; the God and Goddess made flesh."

***

I finally understood why I recognised this woman. She had once been me. She was me. Or had I been her? And what difference did that make?

As soon as she spoke with such authority, I felt an intense feeling of fear. Even though I did not understand much, I knew this to be the real thing. My feverish memories from earlier were maybe just a dream.

"S- Sarah...?" I managed to say.

"Glad to hear you haven't been messed up too much during your trip, John. I still don't understand how you could possibly still be alive, though. Not after so much time inside my stomach, at least."

"How long have I been here?" I ask.

"About three minutes. Almost four, in fact."

"Do you want me to tell you why you're naked?" Sarah asks.

"Wha..." I say awkwardly. I look down at my own body. I am butt-naked and drenched in a clear liquid. My flesh has a blue tint and I seem to have burns all over my body. Why don't I feel any pain? I quickly look up again at the giant face of Sarah, more to avoid looking at the mess that is my body than for want of looking at this so-called goddess.

For a second, I wonder who Sarah is. Then, it hits me. That night. The horrors of being swallowed alive... The only memories I have right now.

The nightmare was real and is not over.

***

Sarah's eyebrows jump to her hairline. "Damn, I thought I cleaned my insides completely afterwards." She pats her round belly. "Something happened, John. I don't know what, but I don't just cough up you guys after you've been inside me for a day."

"No! Please tell me that is not what really happened!" I say, suddenly understanding exactly what has happened.

"Calm down. It's not that bad, though I am very disappointed in myself. I need to figure this out. Until then, you will stay with me." she said.

Then, her eyes looked away for a second and refocused on me again with renewed interest. A playful smile crept on her lips.

"Or maybe, you will stay -very- close with me. Think you can repeat that feat of coming back up alive again, John?" she asked.

My brain was a blank. My heart thudded painfully in my chest. There is nothing more terrifying than feeling helpless. When you are on death's doorstep while thinking you've been given a second chance, and only given the choice between life and going insane, both of them become equally frightening options.

Fear rules my existence. Fear gives me courage.

And yet I still did not know who I was nor who she was. All I knew was that she was the woman that had gotten off on eating me alive, yet here I was.

Alive and kicking.